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iJNCTUATION 


ii  book  for 


ewriier  Operaiors 
and  Business  Men 


Dickson 


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MODERN    PUNCTUATION 

A    BOOK    FOR 

STENOGRAPHERS,   TYPEWRITER    OPERATORS 
AND    BUSINESS    MEN 


HINTS   TO   LETTER-WRITKRS,  ONK    HUNDRED    SU<;GESTI0KS   TO   TYPEWRITER 
OI'ERATORS,    A    LIST   OF    COMMON    ABBREVIATIONS    WITH    DEFINI- 
TIONS, ANli  A  VOCABULARY  HF  BUSIS'ESS  AND  TECHNICAL 
TERMS,     WITH      SPACFS     FOR     WRITING     IN 
THE    SHORTHAND     EQUIVALENTS 


WILLIAM   BRADFORD   DICKSON 


17,15  & 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 

NEW   YORK  ^   J-.^TZ"  <,,r,.A 

27  West  Twenty-third  St.  24  Bedford  St..  Strand 

|:^t  liniclurbodur  |1rcss 
1900 


Copyright,  iSgz 

BY 

WILLIAM  BRADFORD  DICKSON 


Electrotyped,  Printed,  and  Bound  by 

Ube  Tknicftcrbockcr  press,  IRew  jgorh 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


This  little  volume  is  respectfully  dedicated  to  all  earnest  workers  in  the 

World  of  Commerce,  and  to  all  willing  students  who  desire  to 

excel,  with  the  sincere  wish  that  it  may  prove  a  help 

to  raise  the  standard  of  proficiency  in  the  Art 

of  Punctuation  in  both  the  Commercial 

and  Stenographic  World. 

The  Author. 


•  N 


PREFACE. 

In  this  work  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author 
to  treat  the  art  of  punctuation  as  a  matter  of 
common  sense,  good  judgment,  and  taste. 

No  specific  laws  or  rules  are  laid  down,  but 
modern  improved  methods  of  punctuation  are 
set  forth  in  a  simple  and  plain  statement  of 
facts, — easily  understood  and  absorbed  by  the 
average  mind. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  illustrative  examples 
in  this  work  are  taken  entirely  from  the  terminol- 
ogy and  phraseology  of  the  business  world,  this 
fact  in  no  way  limits,  but  rather  enhances,  the 
^  general  value  and  usefulness  of  the  work, 
v^        It  has  been  the  experience  of  the  author  that 
^  many  people  who  have  been  carefully  drilled 
^   in  the  grammatical  and  rhetorical  punctuation 
of  literary  language  have  found  themselves  un- 
able to  practically  apply  the  same   rules  and 
experience  to  the  proper  punctuation  of  ordi- 
nary business  language,  whereas  many  students 
and   printers   who   have    thoroughly    mastered 
the  correct  punctuation  of  commercial  language 

V 


vi  PREFACE. 

have  been  able  to  successfully  apply,  with  little 
or  no  difificulty,  the  same  principles  to  the 
proper  division  of  literary  language. 

The  reason  for  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  meaning  and 
application  of  the  terminology  and  phraseology 
of  the  business  world  seems  to  lead  up  naturally 
to  a  keener  appreciation  of  the  value  and  mean- 
ing of  literary  terminology  and  phraseology  of 
the  literary  world,  while  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  use  and  meaning  of  literary  expressions 
alone  seldom  reflects  an  equivalent  amount  of 
light  into  the  mystery  of  business  language. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  the  merest  novice 
will  comprehend  and  master  the  technicalities  of 
the  business  world  quite  as  well  as  the  lettered 
student. 

This  book,  then,  while  serving  as  a  guide  to 
correct  punctuation  for  stenographers,  business 
men,  and  copyists,  should  also  prove  of  value  to 
those  desiring  a  general  knowledge  of  the  art. 

It  is  a  work  planned  to  meet  the  necessities 
not  only  of  special  classes,  but  of  all  classes,  and 
as  such  the  author  launches  it  into  the  busy 
world,  hoping  that  it  may  prove  an  easy,  simple, 
and  safe  guide  to  all  who  desire  proficiency  in 
the  art  of  punctuation. 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductory  i 

Definitions 

9 

The  Paragraph 

ID 

The  Interrogation  Mark 

12 

The  Exclamation  Point 

12 

The  Dash 

12 

The  Apostrophe 

14 

The  Hyphen     . 

14 

Quotation  Marks 

i6 

Quotations 

i6 

Parentheses 

i6 

Brackets  . 

17 

Ditto  Marks      , 

17 

Leaders    . 

17 

Uses  of  the  Comma  , 

i8 

Omissions 

i8 

Unimportant  Omissions 

19 

Preparatory  Expressions 

20 

Conditional  Clauses . 

21 

Modifying  Clause  out  of  its  Propei 

Position 

23 

Parenthetical  Expressions 

24 

How  Divided 

25 

How  Separated 

26 

List  of  Parenthetical  Expressions 

27 

Long  Sentences 

28 

Quotations         .... 

29 

How  Divided 

30 

How  Introduced    . 

31 

A  Series  of  Words  and  Short  Phrases 

32 

The  Semicolon  .... 

34 

The  Colon         .... 

36 

The  Period 

. 

39 

vu 


VUl 


CONTENTS. 


Abbreviations  . 

Remarks  . 
General  Instructions 
Promiscuous  Examples 
Experimental  Examples 
Suggestions  to  Typewriter  Operators 
Hints  to  Letter  Writers 
Habits  of  Business   _.  "•  ."*": 
What  is  Punctuation  ?    . 
Syllabication  and  Pronunciation  . 
List  of  Business  and  Technical  Terms 
Compound  Words   .... 
Note         ...•.• 


40 
48 

49 
51 

58 
62 

73 
74 
74 

75 

77 

125 

128 


MODERN   PUNCTUATION 


INTRODUCTORY 

/2.7>5S 
When  the  population  of  the  world  consisted 

of  a  few  wandering  nomadic  tribes,  following 
their  flocks  and  herds  over  the  hill-tops  and 
through  the  valleys  of  the  earth,  language  was 
in  its  infancy,  and  man's  vocabulary  contained 
only  those  words  which  were  the  names  of 
absolute  necessities, — such  as  meat,  drink,  sleep, 
etc.  These  name-words,  or  noun-words  as  they 
were  afterwards  known,  together  with  a  few 
'^  simple  and  natural  connectives, — such  as  and, 
>  to,  if,  on,  or,  etc., — made  up  the  sum  total  of  his 
,j   vocabulary. 

Then,  long-sentence  making  and  paragraph- 
ing were  unknown.  Words  were  few,  sentences 
the  embodiment  of  simplicity, — brevity  the 
soul  of  expression.  Doubtless  man's  first  sen- 
tences were  as  simple  as,  /  have  come  ;  I  will 
go  ;  I  will  fish  ;  I  will  hunt.  As  regards  sim- 
plicity, even  the  longest  sentences  of  those  days 


^ 


2  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

were  not  more  complex  than  the  longest  sen- 
tences in  the  First  Readers  of  this  generation. 

At  this  period  of  his  history,  man  had  httle 
need  of  punctuation,  for  the  natural  pause  in 
his  voice  after  uttering  a  simple  sentence  con- 
veyed a  sense  of  completeness  to  his  listeners. 
Later  on,  he  learned  to  express  ideas  through 
the  medium  of  signs  or  writing,  and  at  once 
experienced  the  need  of  some  sign  to  indicate 
the  completion  of  a  sentence.  He  realized  that 
this  sign  must,  in  some  way,  equal  in  value  and 
correspond  to  the  voice-pause. 

The  simplest  sign  that  occurred  to  him  was, 
the  dash,  —  the  long  dash  answering  the  purpose 
of  the  period ;  the  short  dash  that  of  the 
comma.  Writers  of  that  time  had  little  need 
of  the  semicolon  or  colon,  as  the  relative  value 
of  words  and  phrases  did  not  require  its  use. 
Primitive  and  simple  as  these  methods  were, 
who  can  say  they  were  not  almost  as  good  as 
our  present  system  of  rules,  which  few  under- 
stand, though  many  claim  to,  but  do  not  ? 

As  time  slipped  away,  man  obeyed  the 
natural  law  of  progression,  and  his  sphere  of 
observation  widened.  He  discovered  more 
unknown  territory,  encountered  and  mastered 
deeper  relations  between  objects,  and,  naming 
his  new  discoveries  and  relations,  added   new 


IN  TK  OD  UC  TOR  Y.  3 

words  to  his  vocabulary.  Each  century  saw 
the  birth  of  a  multitude  of  new  words;  and 
with  the  growth  of  words  came  the  growth  of 
sentences,  both  in  length  and  complexity. 
With  this  growth  in  complexity  came  a  host  of 
indistinct  relations  between  words  and  phrases, 
requiring  greater  effort  on  the  part  of  read- 
ers to  comprehend  written  language.  Sen- 
tences grew  so  long  that  they  could  not  be 
easily  understood  on  first  reading  unless  the 
mind  paused  here  and  there  to  review  the 
ground,  and  to  consider  each  individual  idea  as 
expressed  and  its  relation  to  the  sentence  as  a 
whole.  It  was  self-evident  that  the  mind  must 
be  rested  here  and  there  in  order  to  understand 
the  meaning  of  the  sentence  and  appreciate  the 
value  of  each  idea.  Suitable  signs  must  be 
found  to  represent  these  rests  or  pauses  ;  and 
the  signs  must  be  chosen  with  taste  and  good 
judgment.  Such  were  the  conditions  which 
made  our  present  system  of  punctuation  an 
absolute  necessity. 

There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  literature 
when  full,  round,  long  sentences  were  consid- 
ered the  height  of  refined  and  intellectual  com- 
position. As  the  science  of  literature  advanced, 
however,  and  by  extensive  experience  writers 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  effect  of  sentences 


4  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

of  different  lengths,  it  was  discovered  that  it  was 
well-nigh  an  impossibility  to  make  a  long,  com- 
plex sentence  express  ideas  as  clearly  and 
forcibly  as  medium  or  short  ones.  In  these 
days,  the  forcible  and  successful  writer  is  the 
one  who  expresses  himself  in  medium  or  short 
sentences,  with  a  long  sentence  thrown  in  here 
and  there  for  the  sake  of  variety.  There  are 
still,  however,  many  writers  who  use  long  and 
difficult  sentences,  wherein  modifying  or  re- 
stricting clauses  are  not  connected  with  the 
expressions  they  are  intended  to  modify,  rela- 
tions dimly  indicated,  and  ideas  jumbled  up  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  embarrass  and  confuse  the 
reader.  It  is  on  such  sentences  that  the  intelli- 
gent punctuator  must  demonstrate  the  practica- 
bility of  his  art. 

It  is  well  to  remark  here,  however,  that  the 
aim  of  the  majority  of  business  as  well  as  liter- 
ary men  is  to  express  themselves  in  sentences 
as  brief  as  possible,  thus  presenting  their  ideas 
to  the  reader  in  such  manner  that  the  mind 
realizes  their  importance  and  force  without 
particular  effort. 

As  the  art  of  written  expression  grows  more 
scientific,  the  art  of  punctuation  becomes  less 
important.  Much  of  its  necessity  will  fade  with 
the  decline  of  writers  of  long,  straggling,  weak 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

sentences.  The  writer  who  expresses  himself 
simply,  briefly,  and  to  the  point  has  com- 
paratively little  use  for  marks  of  punctuation 
other  than  the  period  and  comma,  while  the 
long-sentence  maker  is  constantly  in  need  of 
the  art  of  punctuation  to  render  his  meaning 
clear.  Punctuation  is  declining  in  quantity 
and  increasing  in  quality. 

The  object  of  this  little  work  is  to  give  the 
student  some  practical  advice  in  regard  to  the 
use  of  the  comma,  period,  semicolon,  colon,  and 
other  marks  of  punctuation,  as  well  as  a  number 
of  good  reasons  for  their  use.  It  is  not  in- 
tended as  a  complete  epitome  of  our  present 
system  of  punctuation,  containing  a  long  list  of 
arbitrary  rules.  It  is  simply  a  plain  statement 
of  facts,  giving  practical  reasons  for  the  use  of 
the  various  punctuation  marks,  and,  as  such,  has 
a  peculiar  value  of  its  own. 

Students  in  our  schools  and  colleges  have 
been  drilled  in  the  arbitrary  rules  of  punctua- 
tion, but  have  never  been  given  one  tenth  the 
practice  necessary  to  make  the  art  of  real  value. 
The  reasonableness  of  the  study  has  never  been 
placed  before  them.  The  usual  plan  is  to  have 
the  student  commit  a  system  of  rules  to  mem- 
ory, and  send  him  out  into  the  business  or 
literary  world   to    punctuate    as    best    he    can 


D  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

according  to  his  understanding  of  the  subject 
matter,  and  the  dictates  of  common-sense. 

If  the  student  cannot  comprehend  the  exact 
meaning  of  what  he  tries  to  punctuate,  all  the 
arbitrary  rules  in  the  world  will  not  enable  him 
to  punctuate  correctly.  This  forcibly  demon- 
strates the  fact  that  arbitrary  rules  or  laws  of 
any  kind  are  perfectly  useless,  unless  the  stu- 
dent has  a  thorough  conception  of  their  founda- 
tion and  meaning,  and  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
their  proper  application.  In  presenting  a  work 
of  this  nature  it  is  much  better,  therefore,  to 
appeal  to  the  common  reasoning  powers  of  the 
student,  and  teach  him  according  to  reason 
instead   of  rule. 

The  student  must  always  bear  in  mind  that 
he  cannot  become  proficient  in  the  art  of  punc- 
tuation (for  it  is  an  art),  without  a  vast  amount 
of  practice.  Theoretical  knowledge  of  a  law  is 
one  thing,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  same  to 
secure  practical  results,  quite  another.  The 
compositors  employed  on  standard  publications 
throughout  the  world  are  constantly  analyzing 
the  sentences  of  different  writers,  inserting 
commas,  semicolons,  periods,  etc.,  here  and 
there  throughout  their  productions ;  conse- 
quently many  of  them  are  the  best  punctua- 
tors in  the  world.  They  become  perfectly 
familiar  with   the  style,   the    choice  of   words, 


IN  TR  OD  UC  TOR  Y.  7 

and  the  disposition  of  phrases  and  clauses  of 
the  various  hterary  people  throughout  the 
country,  thus  demonstrating  the  truth  that  con- 
tinued practice  is  the  only  practical  road  to  a 
thorough  mastery  of  the  art  of  punctuation. 

The  student  must  analyze  sentences  of  all 
kinds  over  and  over  again,  paying  particular 
attention  to  the  sense  expressed  therein.  He 
will  thus  discover  the  reason  underlying  the 
disposition  of  the  different  marks  of  punctua- 
tion used  in  each  sentence.  After  the  p-round 
has  been  repeatedly  gone  over  according  to 
these  methods,  punctuation  will  become  entirely 
mechanical, — in  fact  a  mere  instinct. 

Some  people  are  naturally  quick  of  percep- 
tion and  understanding,  and  absorb  the  mean- 
ing of  a  sentence  without  particular  effort. 
Such,  people  punctuate  correctly,  although 
their  knowledge  of  the  general  laws  of  punc- 
tuation is  limited.  They  have  a  very  vague 
idea  of  the  value  of  the  comma,  the  semicolon, 
the  colon,  and  the  period,  knowing  them  simply 
as  signs  indicating  a  certain  amount  of  pause ; 
but  their  conception  of  the  relation  of  the  vari- 
ous ideas  expressed  in  a  sentence  is  so  clear, 
that  they  are  able  to  dispose  of  the  marks  of 
punctuation  with  good  judgment  and  taste. 
Such  people  may  be  termed  natural  punc- 
tuators.    The  majority  of  people,  however,  are 


8  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

compelled  to  give  punctuation  constant  study 
and  practice,  in  order  to  become  thoroughly 
accurate  in  the  art. 

Many  literary  men,  ministers,  and  lecturers 
are  poor  punctuators.  This  results  from  the 
fact  that  they  take  it  for  granted  that  anyone 
who  reads  their  productions  can  understand  the 
ideas  expressed  as  well  as  they  do  themselves. 
This  is  the  common  fault  of  many  writers,  and 
one  for  which  the  printer  suffers.  Many  news- 
papers and  periodicals  nowadays,  however,  will 
not  accept  an  article  unless  gotten  up  in  neat 
form,  and  punctuated  perfectly. 

The  stenographer  has  no  one  to  look  over  his 
work  and  revise  his  punctuation.  It  must  come 
fresh  from  the  machine  without  a  single  inac- 
curacy ;  hence  the  necessity  of  stenographers 
being  good  punctuators.  Without  proper  punc- 
tuation a  business  letter  may  lose  much  of  its 
force  and  importance,  and  oftentimes  may  even 
be  misconstrued  owing  to  certain  of  the  sen- 
tences being  made  ambiguous  through  inac- 
curate punctuation. 

There  are  many  business  men  who  are  able 
to  dictate  a  concise,  clear,  and  well  expressed 
letter,  but  who  have  given  little  attention  to 
punctuation.  They  expect  their  stenographers 
to  do  it  for  them. 


DEFINITIONS. 

A  sign  is  the  expression  of  a  thought  by  means 
of  a  visible  object  or  action. 

As  in  railroading,  different  colored  lights  express 
different  meanings  to  the  engineer  ;  so,  in  punctua- 
tion, different  shaped  signs  express  different  rela- 
tions between  words. 

Punctuation  is  a  system  of  rules  for  the  correct 
division  of  written  discourse  by  the  use  of  special 
signs,  its  object  being  to  aid  the  reader  to  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  thought  expressed. 

Too  much  punctuation  often  makes  the  sense  of 
an  article  more  obscure  than  too  little.  Incorrect 
punctuation  indicates  that  the  writer  is  not  clear 
in  his  conception  of  the  meaning  of  the  sentence, 
that  he  does  not  quite  understand  what  he  is  punc- 
tuating. How,  then,  can  an  incorrect  punctuator 
expect  the  reader  to  comprehend  readily  what  he 
does  not  clearly  understand  himself  ? 

Marks  of  punctuation  may  be  used  according  to 
grammatical  law,  with  grammatical  exactness. 
They  may  also  be  disposed  of  according  to  the 
dictates  of  common-sense,  that  is  to  say,  by  a  sim- 
ple realization  of   the  relation  of   words,   such    as 


lO  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

might  be  expected  from  any  person  of  average 
mental  capacity. 

The  signs  used  in  punctuation  are  the  Comma, 
Semicolon,  Colon,  Period,  Paragraph,  Interrogation 
Mark,  Exclamation  Point,  Dash,  Apostrophe,  Hy- 
phen, Quotation  Marks,  Parentheses,  Brackets, 
Ditto  Marks,  and   Leaders. 

The  comma  denotes  a  slight  degree  of  separa- 
tion ;  a  semicolon  a  degree  slightly  greater  than 
the  comma  ;  a  colon  a  degree  somewhat  greater 
than  the  semicolon  ;  while  the  period  denotes  a 
full  stop,  or  the  termination  of  a  complete  thought, 
— generally  speaking,  the  end  of  a  sentence.  The 
common  acceptation  of  the  value  of  the  different 
marks  of  punctuation  is  as  follows  :  The  semi- 
colon is  equivalent  to  two  commas  ;  the  colon  to 
four  commas  ;  the  period  to  six  commas  ;  in  other 
words,  this  proportion  represents  the  relative 
amount  of  pause  indicated  by  each  sign. 

NOTE. 

Only  the  minor  marks  of  punctuation,  such  as  can  be  explained  and 
disposed  of  by  a  short  definition  or  a  few  remarks,  are  handled  under  the 
above  head. 

The  more  important  marks  of  punctuation,  the  Comma,  Semicolon,  Colon 
and  Period,  are  each  given  a  complete  chapter  immediately  following. 

The  Paragraph  expresses  a  degree  of  separa- 
tion greater  than  the  period  or  any  mark  of  punc- 
tuation, and  denotes  the  introduction  of  a  new 
subject  or  a  direct  change  in   thought. 


DEFINITIONS.  I  I 

A  paragraph  should  embody  a  collection  of 
thoughts  upon  one  particular  subject.  If  it  is 
long  and  involves  the  thought  expressed  on  two 
or  more  different  subjects,  even  though  they  may 
be  slightly  related,  the  distinction  between  them 
is  less  marked  and  it  is  more  difficult  for  the  reader 
to  realize  the  force  and  importance  of  each.  Para- 
graphs, then,  should  never  be  longer  than  necessity 
demands. 

In  dictating  a  business  letter,  the  dictator  is  apt 
to  dilate  upon  three  or  four  different  subjects. 
Some  of  these  subjects  will  be  slightly  related  to 
each  other  while  the  rest  of  them  will  bear  no  rela- 
tion whatever.  All  the  various  ideas  expressed 
upon  each  particular  subject  should  be  grouped  in 
the  form  of  a  paragraph.  Frequently  it  will  re- 
quire considerable  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
stenographer  to  decide  this  matter,  but  continual 
practice  will  make  the  art  of  paragraphing  an  easy 
accomplishment. 

Paragraphic  writers  on  the  different  papers 
throughout  the  world  are  men  who  have  choice 
thoughts  on  various  subjects  of  particular  interest 
to  the  public.  Such  writers  always  arrange  their 
thoughts  in  an  effective  manner,  grouping  them  in 
the  form  of  a  paragraph.  Short  paragraphs  are 
always  more  effective  than  long  ones,  because  the 
reader  is  enabled  to  retain  nearly  all  the  thought 
expressed. 


12  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

The  Interrogation  Mark  designates  the  ter- 
mination of  a  direct  question;  thus, — "Can  you 
do  anything  by  that  route  ?  Do  you  guarantee 
quality  of  goods  you  quote  ?  " 

The  Exclamation  Point,  in  its  general  use, 
designates  the  termination  of  an  expression  ,of 
wonder  or  surprise.  In  the  commercial  world, 
however,  its  principal  uses  are  to  denote  emphasis 
and  to  express  irony  or  contempt  ;  thus, — "  An 
Unparalleled  Offer  !  "  is  an  example  of  the  use  of 
the  exclamation  point  for  emphasis  ;  while,  "  Sell- 
ing out  below  cost  !  Who  could  believe  such  an 
advertisement  !  "  expresses  irony. 

In  the  following  example  it  is  evident  the  ex- 
clamation point  is  used  to  express  irony  : 

Your  explanation,  which  is  replete  with  sound  reasoning,  (!) 
proves  you  to  be  a  great  (!)  salesman,  remarkably  adapted  to 
this  business. 

The  interrogation  mark  also  is  frequently  used 
to  express  ridicule,  irony,  and  contempt  ;  thus, 
"  What  a  remarkable  (?)  man  he  is." 

The  Dash  is  used  to  denote  a  sudden  change 
in  thought  or  an  omission  of  letters.  In  some  in- 
stances it  is  used  to  separate  parenthetical  expres- 
sions from  the  rest  of  the  sentence.  The  dash  is 
frequently  used  in  connection  with  the  colon  to 
indicate  a  slight  increase  in  the  degree  of  separa- 
tion expressed  by  the  colon.     It  is  also  used  with 


DEFINITIONS.  1 3 

the  comma  for  the  same  purpose.  A  comma  and 
dash  are  about  equivalent  to  a  semicolon,  while  a 
colon  and  dash  express  nearly  the  same  amount  of 
pause  as  the  period. 

EXAMPLES  SHOWING    DIFFERENT  USES  OF    THE  DASH. 

We  also  send  you  two  copies  of  a  new  catalogue  gotten  up  in 
good  form, — one  to  put  in  your  register  or  other  convenient 
place,  and  the  other  to  keep  in  your  pocket. 

Glass  Works. — We  will  accept  11 51,  Kansas  City  Glass 
Works.  "^ 

You  will  notice  that  on  all  desirable  business  we  have  largely 
increased  our  lines, — a  policy  that  we  think  will  make  the 
company  valuable  to  you. 

The  terms  offered  liy  the  company  are  most  liberal  : — a 
commission  of  live  per  cent,  will  be  paid, — that  is — .fso  per 
$1,000;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  you  could  make  from  $50 
to  $500  a  day  for  several  weeks. 

We  have  your  favor  of  the  31st  ultimo,  and  note  what  you 
say  in  regard  to  policy  number  764,824 — PLlton. 

764,917 — Harrison.      We  note  what  you  say  touching  same. 

The  fact  of  his  knowing  contents  of  package,  which  is  iden- 
tical with  those  you  have,  excepting  that  you  claim  the  pack- 
age, when  received,  contained  but  a  coat  and  vest — pantaloons 
missing, — is  sufficient  proof  of  his  ownership. 

F 54 M 206. 

September 6 '84. 

Dear  Sir, — Dear  Sir  : — 

As  follows  ; — As  follows, — As  follows  : — 2d  ed. — pp.  167-8. 

S.  of  the  Cor.  of  Sec.  27—11-25. 


14  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

The  Apostrophe  is  used  to  denote  the  omis- 
sion of  letters  in  contractions  and  abbreviations  ; 
thus,  dont,  can't,  ma?ig'r. 

It  is  also  used  before  a  final  s  to  signify  posses- 
sion ;  thus,  "  John's  investment "  ;  "  Henderson's 
disbursements." 

When  the  word  denoting  possession  ends  with  s, 
or  is  plural  in  form  or  by  nature,  the  apostrophe 
follows  instead  of  precedes  the  s  j  thus,  Mr. 
Willia7ns'  property  ;  Karges'  store  j  for  goodness' 
sake. 

EXAMPLES. 

A  slight  decline  in  Boyton's  saws  has  taken  place. 

Your  account  has  now  been  credited  $15  on  Winslow's 
Soothing  Syrup,  as  per  your  card  of  the  second. 

January  25',  '89. 

Invs't,  Dep't,  Bld'ng,  Att'y. 

The  apostrophe  is  frequently  used  to  denote 
dimensions  ;  thus, 

6  feet  4  inches  may  be  expressed,  6'  4". 

The  Hyphen  is  used  to  connect  two  members 
of  a  compound  word  ;  to  show  proper  syllabication 
of  a  word  at  the  end  of  a  line  ;  to  connect  firm- 
narnes  which  are  compounded.  It  is  also  used  to 
compound  familiar  terms  which  from  constant  use 
have  attained  the  import  of  one  word. 


DEFINITIONS.  1 5 

EXAMPLES  ILLUSTRATINC  USE  OF  HYPHEN. 

Freight-claim — department-voucher. 

Gill-Alexander  Electric  Co. 

Weir-Shugart  Implement  Co. 

Herald-Chronicle. 

Co-operation. 

We  have  just  secured  a  new  line  of  ecru  and  tan  shades, 
II-I2  twill,  40-inch,  all-wool  French  cashmere. 

We  have  a  small  quantity  of  40-inch,  all-wool  albatross. 

We  are  also  out  of  square  Japan  fans  and  all  sizes  in  low- 
price  Japanese  folding-fans. 

Our  plan  is  to  send  notices  to  all  policy-holders. 

The  colors  include  black,  seal-brown,  navy-blue,  cardinal, 
green,  tan-brown,  cream,  garnet,  and  wood-brown. 

We  regret  exceedingly  the  non-delivery  of  your  esteemed 
order. 

Left-hand  wood-beam  plows. 

2  ^-inch  steel  tubular  axle,  equal  to  3  ^-inch  thimble- 
skein  bed-brake  wagons. 

The 'nine-hoe  drill  is  wortli  %\i. 

The  above  buggies  have  A  wlieels,  28-0/,.  machine-buffed 
leather  quarters  and  back-stays. 

Wood-box,  ice-house. 

Twenty-one,  forty-two,  fifty-five,  etc. 

The  tendency  of  modern  times,  however,  is  to 
eliminate  the  hyphen  as  much  as  possible.  Many 
words  which  were  formerly  written  in  their  com- 
pound form  are  now  written  as  one  word  ;  such  as 
shorthand,  typewriting,  warehouse,  etc. 


l6  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Quotation  Marks  denote  the  introduction  into 
written  or  printed  discourse  of  the  exact  words  or 
thought  of  another  ;   thus, 

We  have  your  telegram  saying,  "  Ship  the  goods  imme- 
diately," and  have  obeyed  your  instructions. 

Quotations  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds, — 
direct  and  indirect  : 

A  direct  quotation  is  the  exact  words  of  another, 
and  an  indirect  quotation  the  expression  of  an- 
other's words  in  your  own  language  ;  thus. 

He  wired  us,  "  Ship  two  cars  No.  2  red  wheat," 
is  a  direct  quotation,  while  "  he  wired  us  to  ship 
him  two  cars  of  No.  2  red  wheat,"  is  the  indirect 
quotation  for  the  same  expression.  Quotation 
marks  should  be  used  to  denote  direct  quotations 
only. 

Parentheses  are  used  to  separate  parenthetical 
and  explanatory  expressions  from  the  main  sen- 
tence ;  thus, 

Collin's  axes  and  picks  reduced  50  cents  in  list.  (This  in 
addition  to  reduction  advised  last  month.) 

Our  rule  concerning  this  matter  as  given  in  clause  12  of  the 
Special  Instructions  (Superintendent's  transfer  report),  is  as 
follows  : 

On  Wednesday  last  (4th  inst.)  to  avoid  delay,  we  entered 
the  bark  N'ori/ierii  IJ^/itm  the  name  of  the  Railroad  Company. 

(See  chapter  on  Parenthetical  Expression.  _) 


DEFINITIONS.  17 

Brackets  are  of  the  same  general  nature  as 
parentheses,  but  are  used  to  enclose  a  note,  ex- 
planation, or  correction  ;  thus,  Softly  falls  [fall] 
the  shades  of  evening. 

Ditto  Marks  are  used  to  indicate  the  repetition 
of  an  expression  which  occurs  in  a  preceding  line  ; 
thus. 

The  assets  of  the  business,  real  and  nominal,  are  as  follows  : 

New  York  real  estate,  unincumbered $20,000, 

New  Jersey  "        "  "  16,000, 

Westchester"        "  "  6,000. 

Leaders  are  dotted  lines  which  direct  the  eye 
from  the  name  of  a  commodity  to  its  quoted  price  ; 
thus, 

Rye 95, 

Bran 98, 

Winter  wheat 98> 

No.  2  red  wheat 93- 

Leaders  are  also  used  to  denote  the  omission 
of  names  or  dates,  designating  the  place  in  written 
or  printed  matter  where  a  name  or  date  has  been 
omitted  and  is  to  be  inserted  afterwards  ;  thus, 

189    

Policy  No Name  of  insured 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 

day  of 189     


2 


USES  OF  THE  COMMA. 

The  comma  signifies  different  degrees  of  pause 
according  to  the  position  it  occupies,  or  the  use  to 
which  it  is  put.  It  is  the  most  frequent  and  im- 
portant signal  in  the  art  of  punctuation,  and  has 
seven  well  established  values. 

The  different  values  of  the  comma,  named  in  the 
order  of  their  importance,  are  as  follows  :  to  denote 
an  omission  ;  to  indicate  the  termination  of  a  prepara- 
tory expression  ;  to  indicate  a  modifier  set  away 
from  what  it  modifies  ;  to  separate  parenthetical 
expressions  from  the  main  sentence  ;  to  separate  dif- 
ferent members  of  a  long  sentence  ;  to  introduce 
a  short  quotation  ;  to  separate  a  series  of  words  or 
phrases. 

OMISSIONS. 

Unnecessary  expressions  are  always  eliminated 
from  business  letters.  This  necessitates  the  omis- 
sion of  such  familiar  words  or  phrases  as  the  writer 
deems  should  be  easily  understood  by  the  reader. 
Whenever  sucli  omissions  occur,  the  comma  is  used 
to  indicate  a  short  pause,  during  which  the  reader 

i8 


U:S£S  OF   THE   COMMA.  1 9 

is  supposed  to  supply  mentally  the  omitted  word 
or  phrase.  In  every  case  the  omitted  portion  is 
an  unimportant  word  or  phrase  which  is  easily  un- 
derstood, and  which  does  not  particularly  affect  the 
sense  of  the  sentence. 

EXAMPLES  OF    OMISSIONS. 

Enclosed  find  check  for  $50,  amount  of  our  account  in  full. 

We  will  sell  you  these  goods  for  i^i. 25,  5  ^/,  four  months 
from  January  first. 

We  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  make  us  an  offer  of,  say,  $5.60, 
sicht  draft,  with  bill  of  lading  attached,  delivered  at  Buffalo 
in  five  or  ten  car-load  lots. 

We  have  a  copy  of  your  rejily  under  date  of  27th  ult.,  in 
which  you  stated  to  Messrs.  M.  &  N.  that  the  purchase  of  Jan- 
uary, February,  March,  English  shipment,  is  equivalent  to  a 
March,  April,  and  May  delivery,  30  days. 

UNIMPORTANT    OMISSIONS. 

Some  omissions  are  so  unimportant  that  >jt  is 
unnecessary  to  indicate  them  by  a  comma.  In  the 
clause,  "  Herewith  find  check  for  $10,"  there  is  an 
omission  of  you  will,  between  the  words  herewith 
awAJi/id ;  but  this  omission  is  so  easily  understood 
that  the  reader  does  not  find  it  necessary  to  pause 
even  a  single  moment  to  supply  it.  There  are 
many  similar  examples  in  business  correspondence 
of  all  kinds,  and  the  writer  must  use  considerable 


20  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

judgment  as  to  whether  or  not  an  omission  is 
important  enough  to  be  indicated  by  a  comma. 
Most  omissions  are  not. 

PREPARATORY   EXPRESSIONS. 

Any  word,  phrase,  or  clause,  which  precedes  a 
sentence  and  indicates  both  by  its  form  and  t/wan- 
ing  that  the  main  clause  is  to  follow,  may  be  called  a 
preparatory  expression.  These  expressions  never 
make  complete  sense  in  themselves,  but  are  so 
worded  as  to  lead  up  to  and  introduce  the  main 
assertion  ;  thus. 

Carefully  considering  your  proposition  of  the  loth,  we  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  it  would  be  better  for  you  to  forward 
the  goods  immediately. 

The  use  of  preparatory  expressions  is  considered 
a  very  strong  feature  of  commercial  language,  for 
the  reason  that  every  preparatory  expression  not 
only  represents  a  thought  of  its  own  which  is  more 
or  less  related  to  the  main  thought,  but  expresses 
it  in»such  a  manner  as  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  reader  and  make  him  understai.d  that  there  is 
something  important  to  follow  :  that  which  does 
follow  is  always  the  main  idea  which  the  writer 
wishes  to  put  forth. 

The  comma  should  he  used  at  the  end  of  every 
p7-eparatory  expression.  Its  office  is  to  give  the 
reader  time  to  absorb  the  sense  of  the  preparatory 
expression,  to  prepare  himself  for  the  main  asser- 


USES  OF   THE   COMMA.  21 

tion,  and  to  note  the  relation  existing  between  the 
idea  expressed  in  the  preparatory  expression  and 
the  thought  brought  out  by  the  main  assertion. 

CONDITIONAL   CLAUSES. 

A  conditional  clause  is  one  which  implies  a 
condition,  that  condition  being  related  in  some 
way  to  the  main  clause.  It  is  of  the  same  nature 
as  the  preparatory  clause  and  might  be  classed  as 
a  conditional  preparatory  clause  ;  thus, 

If  the  goods  are  not  too  much  damaged,  we  will  accept 
them  and  make  shipment  at  once. 

Nearly  every  business  letter  begins  with  a  pre- 
paratory clause  and  has  in  the  body  of  it  one  or 
more  conditional  clauses.  Preparatory  clauses 
usually  begin  with  participles  or  words  of  similar 
importance  ;  such  as,  awaithig,  hoping,  notwith- 
standing,  trusting,  fearing,  feeling,  replying  ;  while 
conditional  clauses  begin  with  words  or  phrases 
implying  a  doubt  or  condition  ;  such  as,  if,  per- 
haps, it  may  be,  etc.  Conditional  and  preparatory 
clauses,  however,  are  similar  in  construction  and 
closely  related. 

Preparatory  expressions  may  be  divided  into 
three  classes,  /.  e.. 

Preparatory  expressions  of  the  first  class,  or 
introductory  words. 

Preparatory  expressions  of  the   second  class,  or 


22  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

introductory  phrases  or  clauses  ;  as,  "  On  your  in- 
voice of  the  19th,  you  called  for  10,000  feet  of  long 
leaf  yellow  pine." 

Preparatory  expressions  of  the  third  class,  or 
complete  sentences  ;  as, 

Referring  to  yovir  letter  of  the  21st  inst.,  wlierein  we  stated 
to  you  that  you  had  overcharged  us  on  this  invoice,  we  again 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  can  not  afford  to  lose  this 
amount. 

EXAMPLES    OF    CONDITIONAL     AND     PREPARATORY    CLAUSES. 

Awaiting  reply  and  hoping  to  be  favored  with  your  orders, 
we  are, 

Trusting  we  may  be  favored  with  your  orders,  we  remain. 

Replying  to  yours  of  the  6th,  we  beg  to  say  that  if  the 
S.  S.  S.  is  in  good  condition,  we  have  no  objection  to  taking 
it  back. 

Should  you  Ije  aide  to  buy  another  lot  of  these  goods  at  4 
cts.  per  yard,  we  have  no  doubt  that  we  can  place  it. 

Concerning  the  question  of  payment  of  duties  at  Baltimore, 
we  wish,  as  in  the  past,  to  use  every  endeavor  to  dispatch  your 
business. 

Referring  to  your  letter  of  May  12th  to  E.  S.  Barrett,  oui 
attorney,  in  relation  to  the  crossing  in  the  city  of  Topeka, 
would  say,  that  before  receiving  the  former  notice  from  you,  I 
directed  the  Division  Superintendent  to  fix  up  this  crossing. 
Should  any  of  the  others  now  be  in  poor  condition,  if  you  will 
kindly  advise  me  what  the  trouble  is,  I  will  see  that  they  are 
repaired  without  further  delay. 

In  the  meantime,  you  will  take  no  further  notice  of  the 
matter,  but  go  on  and  do  the  work  on  the  ground. 


USES   OF    THE    COMMA.  23 

As  the  seven  cars  you  received  have  l:)eeu  inUoaded,  it  is 
impossible  to  again  check  the  lengths  and  numbers  of  the  rails. 

Unless  the  goods  are  delivered  by  the  i6th  inst.  at  the  very 
latest,  I  cannot  receive  them,  as  after  that  date  they  will  be 
perfectly  useless. 

In  the  present  condition  of  trade,  we  cannot  take  the  risk  of 
ocean  freights. 

If,  therefore,  Mr.  ^'au/,e  is  not  entirely  satished  witli  his 
adjustment,  he  is  at  liberty  to  return  the  same. 

MO'DIFYING  OR    RESTRICTING   CLAUSE    OUT  OF 
ITS   PROPER   POSITION. 

When  a  business  man  is  working  under  high 
pressure  and  his  brain  is  in  a  turmoil  with  ideas 
seeking  to  get  themselves  expressed,  he  is  very  apt 
to  construct  a  sentence  which  will  fairly  indicate 
the  state  of  his  mind.  In  other  words,  he  will  form 
long  sentences  wherein  modifying  clauses,  which 
may  express  ideas  of  considerable  importance,  will 
be  set  at  sonie  distance  from  what  they  are  intended 
to  modify.  It  takes  all  the  skill  of  the  writer  to 
separate  these  restricting  clauses  in  such  manner 
that  they  may  be  clearly  comprehended  by  the 
reader  at  first  reading. 

A  modifying  or  restricting  clause  out  of  its  direct 
position  or  relation  should  always  be  preceded  by 
a  comma,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  pause, 
quickly  review  the  sentence,  and  definitely  ascer- 
tain to  what  expression  the  modifier  belongs. 


24  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Sometimes  a  slight  change  in  the  punctuation  of 
such  a  sentence  will  make  it  mean  something  en- 
tirely different  from  what  the  dictator  intended  it 
should.  On  this  point  the  writer  should  be  very- 
careful  and  clearly  understand  the  dictator,  being 
sure  that  he  knows  what  the  dictator  intended  to 
say.  It  is  sometimes  best  entirely  to  reconstruct  a 
sentence  filled  with  ambiguous  modifiers,  instead 
of  endeavoring  to  punctuate  it. 

EXAMPLES. 

We  quote  you  $4.35  per  ton  for  old  rails,  subject  to  your 
immediate  acceptance  by  wire. 

We  have  observed  with  some  care  the  tendency  shown  by 
some  jobbers  to  cut  prices,  owing  chiefly  to  the  active  compe- 
tition. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  have  your  quotations  on  corn  from 
time  to  time,  as  may  suit  your  convenience,  and  perhaps  same 
may  lead  to  business. 

Please  search  your  records  covering  different  ways  it  may 
have  to  come  to  you,  or  of  being  disposed  of,  and  advise. 

The  goods  you  shipped  have  arrived,  but  we  are  not  pre- 
p3.red  to  put  them  on  the  market,  as  it  is  a  little  too  early  in 
the  season,  but  will  do  so  in  the  course  of  a  month. 

PARENTHETICAL   EXPRESSIONS. 

A   word,  phrase,   clause,   or   sentence   suddenly 

introduced  into  any  part  of  a  complete  sentence,  is 

^^lled  a  parenthetical  expression.     It  is  an  intrud- 


PARENTHETICAL  EXPRESSIONS.  25 

ing  thought  which  interrupts  the  sense  or  natural 
connection  of  words,  but  which  serves  more  or  less 
to  explain  or  qualify  the  principal  assertion  ;  as, 
"  Will  you  oblige  us,  confidentially,  with  informa- 
tion relative  to  this  firm."  In  this  sentence  the 
chief  thought  is,  "  Will  you  oblige  us  with  infor- 
mation relative  to  this  firm,"  but  after  the  originator 
of  the  sentence  had  conceived  the  complete  thought, 
a  new  idea  entered  his  mind,  and  that  idea  was  that 
the  information  had  better  be  confidential  ;  so, 
when  he  gives  verbal  expression  to  his  sentence,  he 
introduces  the  new  thought  in  the  midst  of  the 
sentence. 

While  this  thought  is  more  or  less  an  intrusion 
and  has  no  special  grammatical  connection  with 
the  rest  of  the  sentence,  it  very  materially  affects 
the  sense,  making  the  sentence  much  stronger  and 
more  important. 

HOW    DIVIDED. 

•  Parenthetical  expressions  may  be  divided  into 
two  kinds  and  three  classes. 

The  kinds  are  as  follows  : 

First.  Parenthetical  expressions  which  relate 
directly  to  the  sense  of  the  sentence  and  which 
cannot  be  omitted  without  particularly  affecting  its 
importance  and  force.  The  example  given  above 
is  a  parenthetical  expression  of  this  nature. 

Second.     Parenthetical    expressions    which    are 


26  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

directly  related  to  the  sense  of  the  sentence  and 
may  be  omitted  without  particularly  affecting  the 
importance   or  force  of  a  sentence  ;    thus, 

"  Will  you  acquaint  us,  as  far  as  lies  in  your  power,  with  an 
exact  statement  of  his  affairs." 

The  classes  are  as  follows  : 

Parenthetical  expressions  of  the  first  class,  or 
single  words  or  short  phrases  ;  as, 

"  We  have  sent  you  ten  copies  of  our  large  edition  (mounted) 
of  the  revised  rules  of  interchange." 

Parenthetical  expressions  of  the  second  class,  or 
complete  phrases  and  clauses  ;  thus, 

"  I  call  your  attention  to  Mr.  Cline's  letter  of  the  24th  and 
mine  of  this  date  (copies  of  both  herewith)  in  reply  to  yours  of 
the  7th." 

Parenthetical  expressions  of  the  third  class,  or 
complete  sentences    and  even    paragraphs  ;    thus, 

"  Again  the  defendant  attempts   to  prove  by   the   witness 
John  Powell,  that  the  plaintiff,  Ed.   Powell,  paid  the  sum  of 
$100  (see  Powell's  evidence  commencing  on  page  227)." 

HOW    SEPARATED. 

If  directly  related  to  the  sense,  importance,  and 
force  of  a  sentence,  parenthetical  expressions  of 
the  first  class  should  be  separated  from  the  main 
body  of  a  sentence  by  commas  only.  If  it  has  no 
particular  bearing  upon  the  meaning  of  the  sentence. 


PARENTHETICAL  EXPRESSIONS.  2/ 

such  a  parenthetical  expression  should  be  separ- 
ated by  parentheses.  Most  parenthetical  expres- 
sions in  business  correspondence  are  related  in 
some  way  to  the  sense  of  the  sentence  in  which 
they  occur,  and  are  separated  by  commas  only. 

Parenthetical  expressions  of  the  second  class,  if 
directly  related  to  the  sense  of  the  sentence,  should 
be  separated  from  the  main  sentence  by  commas  ; 
if  not  directly  related,  by  parentheses. 

Parenthetical  expressions  of  the  third  class  are 
usually  separated  from  the  main  sentence  by  paren- 
theses, if  directly  related  to  the  sense  of  the  sen- 
tence ;  if  indirectly,  by  brackets. 

EXAMPLES  OF  PARENTHETICAL    EXPRESSIONS. 

The  latter,  we  understand,  was  a  locomotive  valve  oil. 

This,  with  the  hearty  co-operation  of  your  customers,  will 
secure  to  all  who  handle  our  goods  full  and  legitimate  profits. 

In  anticipation  of  the  spring  and  summer  trade,  now  about 
to  commence,  we  beg  to  advise  you  that  we  have  packed 
largely  of  the  crop,  18S4. 

These  goods  should  be  made  a  little  lighter,  say  13  to  16 
ounces,  as  they  are  for  the  Southern  trade. 

The  pattern  is  excellent,  as  is  also  the  color,  Init  the  weight 
does  not  meet  our  approval. 

LIST    OF     PARENTHETICAL    EXPRESSIONS. 

The    following  is   a  list  of    the   most    common 
parenthetical  expressions  : 


28  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Consequently,  furthermore,  however,  indeed,  perhaps,  also, 
then,  tlierefore,  too,  likewise,  moreover,  nevertheless,  ac- 
cordingly, unquestionably,  doubtless,  meanwhile,  lastly,  for- 
merly, namely,  of  course,  in  fact,  to  be  sure,  no  doubt,  in 
general,  in  reality,  in  a  word,  in  that  case,  in  the  meantime, 
in  the  first  place,  in  every  respect,  for  the  most  part,  without 
doubt,  beyond  question,  now  and  then,  on  the  contrary,  on 
the  other  hand,  generally  speaking,  as  it  were,  in  short. 

LONCx  SENTENCES. 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  business  man  carries 
in  mind  many  ideas  bearing  upon  the  same  sub- 
ject, each  idea  being  more  or  less  dependent  upon 
the  other  for  the  full  expression  of  its  meaning. 
When  he  attempts  to  express  these  ideas  in  written 
form,  they  are  likely  to  appear  upon  the  paper  in 
the  shape  of  a  long  compound  or  complex  sentence. 
This  sentence  may  have  two  or  more  members  con- 
nected by  the  conjunctions  and,  but,  or  for.  In 
such  cases  these  conjunctions  should  be  preceded 
by  a  comma,  thus  dividing  the  long  sentence  into 
its  distinctive  parts,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  be 
able  to  comprehend  each  part,  as  a  part,  and  deter- 
mine the  relation  of  the  same  to  the  sentence  as  a 
whole. 

If  the  sentence  is  an  unusuaWy  long  one  and 
its  different  members  are  already  subdivided  by  a 
number  of  commas,  it  is  best  to  show  a  greater 
degree  of  separation  between  the  parts  by  using  a 
semicolon  before  the  above  mentioned  conjunctions, 


QUOTA  TIOXS. 


thus  giving  the  reader  more  time  to  determine  the 
relation  and  meaning  of  ideas. 


EXAMPLES    OF    LONG    SENTENCES. 

No  effort  shall  be  wanting  on  my  part,  not  only  to  do  a  good 
business  with  old  customers,  but  to  open  up  new  accounts. 

Mr.  Jones  starts  for  the  west  the  latter  part  of  this  week,  and 
will  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in,  say,  two  weeks'  time. 

There  are  various  cheaper  oils  offered  as  equal  to  ours, 
but  a  trial  of  them  will  convince  you  that  they  are  inferior  in 
every  way. 

(See  first  use  of  Semicolon  on  following  pages.) 


QUOTATIONS. 

A  word,  phrase,  clause,  sentence,  or  paragraph 
expressing  the  exact  words  of  another,  used  in 
written  or  printed  discourse  for  explanation, 
illustration  or  example,  is  called  a  quotation  ; 
thus. 

We  have  your  telegram  of  t(vday  which  reads,  "  Ship  seven 
boxes  via  steamer  VVIiite  Star''  ami  liave  complied  with  y^ur 
request. 

Another  meaning  for  the  word  quotation,  as  used 
in  the  commercial  world,  is  the  enumeration  of 
commodities  with  prices  attached  ;  thus. 

We  quote  you  as  follows  : 

Dry  salt  meats,  lo  cts. ;  Choice  cull  hams,  \2,\  cts. 


30  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

HOW    DIVIDED. 

Quotations  may  be  divided  into  two  classes. 
Quotations  of  the  first  class,  or  short  phrases  or 
clauses  ;  thus, 

Yours  of  the  I2tli  at  hand  ordering  one  drum  of  roasted 
coffee  same  quality  as  that  sent  you  July  23d,  with  instructions 
that  it  must  be  light,  saying,  "If  it  is  not  light,  we  can  not 
keep  it." 

In  reply  we  wired  you,  "Market  busted  in  No.  2  wheat  ; 
cannot  pay  more  than  68  cents." 

Quotations  of  the  second  class,  or  complete  sen- 
tences ;  as, 

Mr.  Ross  wires  me  under  date  of  l6th  as  follows;  "There 
is  no  contract  that  in  anyway,  directly  or  indirectly,  affects  the 
established  rate  on  wrought-iron  bridge  material." 

Quotations  of  the  third  class,  or  complete  para- 
graphs— sometimes  pages  ;  thus, 

Whenever  Mr.  Johnson  receives  a  claim  for  this  department, 
to  be  checked,  he  stamps  on  tlie  original  expense-bill : 

"This  expense-bill  does  not  agree  with  the  records  in  my 
office  ;  see  copy  of  billing  attached,  etc.,  etc." 

Some  quotations  consist  of  a  single  word  or 
phrase  only,  and  fit  into  the  main  sentence  so 
nicely  that  it  is  not  necessary  ^k.  introduce  them  by 
any  mark  of  punctuation,  the  only  separation 
necessary  being  expressed  by  the  quotation  marks  ; 
thus, 


QUOTATIONS.  3 1 

We  are  in  receipt  of  samples  of  "  Star,  "also  samples  marked 
"  No.  2,"  sent  us  some  time  since. 

This  iron  is  to  be  style  known  as  pattern  "  ]  "  in  your 
catalogue. 

These  goods  were  sold  "as  are,"  consequently  we  can  not 
allow  your  claim. 

If  you  have  some  "  gilt-edged"  hay,  we  would  he  pleased  to 
have  your  order  on  same. 

Quotation  marks,  like  exclamation  points  and 
question  marks,  are  sometimes  used  to  express 
irony  or  contempt  ;  thus, 

I  omitted  to  state  in  my  lerter  of  Saturday,  that  probably 
the  origin  of  the  "  storm  "  upon  the  canal  was  in  the  contrac- 
tors allowing  a  large  boulder  to  roll  into  tlie  canal  from  Camp- 
bell's Hill 

HOW    INTRODUCED. 

Quotations  of  the  first  class,  that  is,  short  quo- 
tations not  exceeding  a  line  in  length,  should  be 
introduced  by  commas. 

Quotations  of  the  second  class,  or  quotations 
over  one  line  in  length  and  not  exceeding  two 
lines,  should  be  introduced  by  semicolons. 

Quotations  of  the  third  class,  or  quotations  con- 
sisting of  whole  paragraphs  or  images,  should  be 
introduced  by  a  colon  and  a  new  paragraph. 

The  office  of  the  comma  in  introducing  short 
and  medium  quotations  is  identical  with  the  use  of 
the  comma  at  the  end  of  preparatory  expressions  ; 


32  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

it  indicates  a  short  pause  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  realize  the  import  of  the  sentence  which  intro- 
duces the  quotation,  prepare  himself  for  the  quota- 
tion which  follows,  and  thoroughly  note  the 
relation  between  the  introductory  clause  and  the 
quotation. 

EXAMPLES    OF    (QUOTATIONS. 

Replying  to  your  telegram  of  to-day  ^^hich  says,  "  Ship  I2 
cars  No.  2  wheat  to-day,"  we  have  this  to  say  : 

We  wired  you  yesterday,  "  Hold  goods  for  further  orders," 
and  now  confirm  same. 

In  regard  to  delivery  they  telegraphed  as  follows  ;  "  We  will 
fill  the  contract  within  60  days,  but  may  send  the  first  car-load 
next  week." 

I  am  in  receipt  of  the  following,  under  date  of  June  ist,  from 
Mr.  Kerr : 

"  Mr.  Beech  has  shown  me  Mr.  Palmer's  letter  to  him  of 
Saturday  last,  in  which  he  says  he  considers  it  his  duty  to 
apply  for  an  injunction  to  stop  all  work  inside  of  the  ten-rod 
limit." 


A   SERIES   OF   WORDS   AND    SHORT   PHRASES. 

In  business  it  is  frequently  necessary  to  enumer- 
ate a  short  list  of  articles,  commodities,  or  particu- 
lars of  some  kind.  In  a  series  of  this  kind  where 
the  expressions  composing  the  series  consist  of  a 
single  word  or  short  phrase,  such  words  and  phrases 
are  separated  by  the  comma  ;  in  this  instance  the 


A    SERIES  OF  WORDS  AXD  PHRASES.      33 

comma  denotes  the  elimination  of  the  co-ordinate 
conjunction  and.  This  use  of  the  comma  would  be 
properly  classified  under  the  head  of  omissions, 
previously  explained,  but  it  is  awarded  a  separate 
heading  because  of  its  constant  use  in  this  capacity. 

KXAMPLES    OF    A    SERIES    OF    WORDS    AND      SHORT    PHRASES. 

During   the   past  month   we  have  received  numerous  ship- 
ments of  Rye,  Barley,  Oats,  Corn,  and  Wheat. 

Please  send  us  per  I'nion  Line  : 

25  Boxes  raisins, 

10  Bbls.  currants, 

28  Boxes  Oswego  soap. 


THE  SEMICOLON. 

The  semicolon  has  five  distinct  uses  : 
I  St.  Before  the  conjunctions  and,  but,  for,  etc., 
when   used    to    connect    two    members   of   a   long 
sentence   wherein   the   members    are    already   sub- 
divided by  commas  ;  thus, 

Do  we  understand  you  to  say  that  your  shipment  would  be 
from  Buffalo,  or  from  Chicago  via  Buffalo  ;  that  is,  after  we 
give  our  orders,  will  we  be  obliged  to  wait  for  the  corn  to 
arrive  at  Buffalo  from  Chicago  ? 

To  you,  therefore,  I  apply  in  this  difficulty  ;  and  should 
esteem  it  a  great  favor  if  you  would  acquaint  me,  as  far  as  lies 
in  your  power,  with  information  respecting  the  character  and 
means  of  this  firm. 

With  a  view  of  increasing  our  membership  among  first-class 
risks,  we  have  decided  to  write  a  limited  number  of  $5,000 
policies  gratis  ;  in  other  words,  to  waive  the  usual  admission 
fee  of  I5. 

2d.  To  separate  two  members  of  a  short  sentence 
when  such  members  are  only  slightly  related,  each 
member  being  nearly  equivalent  to  a  complete  sen- 
tence ;  thus, 

\Ve  have  it  here  :  letter-day. 

34 


THE   SEMICOLON.  35 

The  other  goods  to  which  you  refer,  we  can  let  you  have  at 
the  price  you  mention  ;  terms  are  satisfactory. 

3d.  To  separate  a  series  of  expressions  composed 
of  phrases,  clauses,  or  short  sentences  ;  thus, 

Messrs.  Taylor  &  Co.  advise  us  that  the  Ella  is  now  due  at 
Baltimore,  and  that  she  has  for  you  on  your  order  with  Taylor 
&  Co.,  through  us,  118  tons  No.  i  English  Bessemer  jiig  ;  119 
tons  No.  2  Bessemer  pig  ;   114  tons  No.  3  Bessemer  pig. 

Please  buv  the  following  laces  : 

I  piece  very  fine  A'alenciennes  ;  8  pieces  Honiton  ;  10  pi^es 
best  Irish  Point  ;    10  pieces  white  Yak  Lace  ;  8  pieces 


10  pi^es 


4th.  Before    as,   viz.,  to-wit,  namely,   i.   c, 
followed  by  examples  or  illustrations  ;    thus, 

In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  20",  we  quote  you  buggies 
at  the  lowest  possible  prices  ;  viz.  : 

A  grade  buggies $65.00, 

B       "  "      60.00, 

C       "  "      65.00. 

5th.  I'efore  atiJ,  but,  a.nd /or,  when  these  con- 
junctions are  used  to  introduce  a  final  clause  for 
the  purpose  of  contrast  or  explanation  ;  thus, 

This  is  certainly  not  the  result  of  the  use  of  our  oil  ;  but 
it  is  no  doubt  caused  by  impurities  in  the  water  which  you 
used. 

I  do  not  desire  it  renewed,  as  I  will  have  no  use  for  it  ;  but 
I  fear  that  it  may  fall  into  improper  hands,  therefore  notify 
you  to  have  it  taken  up. 


THE  COLON. 

The  colon  has  four  distinct  uses  : 

-I St.  To  separate  two  members  of  a  very  long 
sentence^  already  subdivided  by  commas  or  semi- 
colons ;  thus, 

You  may  return  the  ii  pairs  of  French  Kids  to  us  by  ex- 
press ;  or,  if  you  can  sell  them  at  a  discount,  you  may  do  so  : 
but  bear  in  mind  that  we  do  not  know  just  what  the  discount 
should  he  ;  still  we  \\  ill  make  you  an  allowance  of  25  cents  per 
pair. 

It  is  well  to  remark  here  that  this  is  a  very  in- 
frequent use  of  the  colon  in  business  language. 
Nowadays  sentences  are  seldom  made  so  long  and 
straggling  as  the  example  given  above. 

2d.  To  separate  clauses  complete  in  themselves, 
possessing  the  attributes  of  a  full  sentence,  yet 
related  to  each  other  by  the  sense  expressed  ;  thus. 

Send  us  your  late  catalogue  :  we  are  in  the  market  for  your 
goods. 

In  the  above  example  the  colon  denotes  the 
omission  of  the  conjunction. 

3d.  To  introduce  a  long  quotation.  Probably 
its  most  frequent  use  is  after  the  phrase  "  as  fol- 

36-    .      .  f 


THE   COLON.  37 

lows,"  when  introducing  long  business  quotations 
wherein  are  given  the  names  of  articles  with  prices 
attached  ;  thus, 

We  are  pleased  to  fjuote  you  special  prices  on  our  goods  as 
follows  : 

Anthracite  coal I9.00  per  ton, 

Bituminous  "    6.00    "     " 

The  colon  is  commonly  used  after  the  expression 
"  Dear  Sir  "  ;  sometimes  after  sub-headings. 
4th.  To  introduce  : 

1.  A  long  explanatory  sentence  or  paragraph  ; 
thus, 

My  idea  about  the  matter  is  this  :  that  before  the  end  >>f  the 
year  these  lots  could  be  sold  at  a  fair  profit,  and  thus  you  would 
be  released  from  paying  anything  further  on  them. 

2.  A  long  business  proposition  ;   thus, 

I  will  make  this  further  proposition  to  you  :  that  if  you  will 
make  the  $600  payment  on  these  lots, , I  will  take  one  half  in- 
terest with  yiju,  by  assuming  and  [laying  interest  on  fSoo  of  the 
purchase  nnmey,  to  be  secured  in  two  notes,  each  for  $500. 

3.  A  long  business  statement  ;  thus, 

Relative  to  this  matter  I  will  make  the  following  statement : 
that  on  the  2gth  of  September  we  shipped  the  wheat  from  vari- 
ous stations  on  the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.,  and  supposed,  of  course, 
that  it  reached  you  promptly  at  the  expiration  of  the  allotted 
time. 

The  office  of  the  colon  in  the  examples  above 
given  is  identical  with  that  of  the  colon  when  used 


3 8  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

to  introduce  a  long  quotation.  In  these  instances 
the  colon  expresses  a  considerable  amount  of  in- 
troductory pause  before  the  explanation,  proposi- 
tion, and  statement,  in  order  that  the  reader  may 
prepare  himself  to  fully  appreciate  their  value. 


THE  PERIOD. 

The  period  is  used  to  denote  the  termination  of  a 
complete  sentence  ;  also  after  headings,  sub-head- 
ings, signatures,  addresses,  abbreviations,  etc. 

The  office  of  the  period  is  so  naturally  and  com- 
monly understood  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  illustrate 
its  uses  by  examples. 

The  period  should  never  be  used  after  st,  d,  th, 
when  used  in  connection  with  numerals. 


39 


ABBREVIATIONS. 

Abbreviations  may  be  divided  into  two  classes  ; 
first,  complete  abbreviations,  which  are  always  de- 
noted by  the  period  ;  thus,  Mr.,  Mrs.,  Dr. 

Second,  partial  abbreviations,  or  those  in  which  a 
small  portion  of  the  word  is  omitted,  this  omission 
being  denoted  by  the  apostrophe  ;  thus  Man'g'r, 
Sec'y. 

The  following  list  of  contractions  and  abbrevia- 
tions includes  the  greater  portion  of  the  frequently 
recurring  ones  now  in  use  in  the  commercial  world. 

A    PARTIAL   LIST    OF   ABBREVIATIONS. 

A.  B.     Able-bodied  seaman.      {Artiui/i    Baccalauretis)   Bach- 
elor of  Arts  [see  B.  A.]. 
Abp.     Archbishop. 
A.  C.     Army  Corps. 
Ace,  or  acct.     Account. 

A.  I).     {Anno  Domini)  In  the  year  of  our  Lord. 
Ad.,  or  Adv.     Adverb,  Advertisement. 
A.  D.  C.     Aid-de-camp. 
Admr.     Administrator,  administration, 
Admx.      Administratrix. 
Ad  V.     (Ad  valorem)  At  tlie  value. 
Agr.     Agriculture. 

40 


A  BBRE  VIA  TIONS.  4 1 


Agt. 

Agent. 

A.  M. 

.     {Artiian  Magistcr)  Master  of  Arts  [see  M.  A.] 

{Ante  meridiem^  Before  noon. 

Amt. 

Ainount. 

Anat. 

Anatomy. 

Anon, 

Anonymous. 

Ans. 

Answer. 

Apl. 

April. 

A  \>x\. 

{A  priori)  lieforehand. 

Art. 

Article. 

Atty. 

Gen.      Attorney-Cieneral. 

Aug. 

August. 

Ave. 

Avenue. 

B.  A.      Bachelor  of  Arts  [see  A.  B.]. 

Bal.      Balance. 

B.,  Bbl.      Barrel,  barrels. 

B.  B.      Bill  book. 

B.  C.     Before  Christ. 

Biog.      Biography. 

Bk.      Book,  Bank. 

B.  I..      Bachelor  of  Laws 

B/L.  .  (Also  written  B.  I..)     Bill  of  lading. 

BL,  or  Bis.      Barrel,  barrels. 

Bot.      Bought. 

Boul.      Boulevard. 

Brig.  Gen.      Brigadier-General. 

Bro.      Brother. 

B/S.     Bill  of  Sale. 

Bu.,  or  Bush.      Bushel,  bushels. 

C.  B.     Cash  book,  Companion  of  the  Bath. 
C.  C.     County  commissioner. 

C.  C.  P.     Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
C.  E.     Civil  engineer,  case  excepted. 
C.  F.  I.      Cost,  freight,  insurance. 


42  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


Chap. 

Chapter,  Chaplain. 

Chf. 

Chief. 

Cin. 

Cincinnati. 

C.J. 

Chief  Justice. 

C.  L. 

Car  load. 

Clk. 

Clerk. 

Co. 

Company. 

C.  O. 

D.     Collect  (or  cash)  on  delivery. 

Coll. 

College. 

Cor. 

Corner. 

C.  P. 

Common  Pleas,  Court  of  Probate. 

C.  R. 

Carrier's  risk. 

Cr. 

Credit. 

Crim. 

con.     Criminal  conversation,  or  adultery 

C.  S. 

Court  of  Sessions. 

Csh. 

Cash. 

Cshr. 

Cashier. 

Cts. 

Cents. 

Cwt. 

Hundredweight. 

D.  C. 

L.     Doctor  of  Civil  (or  Canon)  Law. 

D.  D 

{Di~'i>iitatis  D:>c'o')  D.ictor  of  Divinity 

Dec. 

December. 

Dft. 

Defendant. 

Deg. 

Degree. 

Dep. 

Depot,  Deposit. 

Dept 

Department. 

D.  H 

Deadhead. 

Disct 

Discount. 

Dist. 

District. 

Dist. 

Atty.     District  Attorney. 

Div. 

Division. 

Dr. 

Doctor. 

E.  B.     Expense  bill. 
Ed.     Edition,  editor. 


ABBREVIATIONS.  43 

E.  E.     Errors  excepted. 
E.  N.E.     East-northeast. 
Eng.     England,  engine. 
Encyc.     Encyclopsedia. 

E.  O.  E.      Errors  and  omissions  excepted. 
Esq.      Esquire. 

Et  al.     {Et  alii,  or  alia^  And  others. 

Etc.     (A7  ciTterd)  And  so  forth. 

Et  seq.     {Et  seipieniia)  And  following. 

Et  ux.     {Jit  uxor)  And  wife. 

Ex  rel.     {Ex  relatid)  At  the  relation  of. 

Fahr.      Fahrenheit. 

F.  B.  Freight  bill. 
Feb.      February. 

F.  O.  B.     Free  on  board. 
For.     Foreign. 

Frt.     Freight. 

Ft.      Fort,  foot,  feet. 

Gal.     Gallon. 

G.  A.  R.      Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
Gov.     Governor. 

Hab.  corp.     {Habeas  Corpus)  You  may  have  the  body. 

Hab.  fa.  poss.  {Habere  facias  possessionem)  A  writ  to  put  the 
plaintiff  in  possession. 

Hab.  fa.  seis.  {Habere  facias  seisenatn)  A  writ  now  super- 
seded by  the  preceding. 

Hhd.     Hogshead. 

Hon.     Honorable,  Honorar}'. 

lb.,  or  Ibid.     {Ibidem)  In  the  same  place. 

Ictus.     {luristonsullus)  Counsellor-atdaw. 

I.  e.     (Id  est)  That  is. 

In.      Inch. 

Inc.,  or  incor.     Incorporated. 


44  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Incog.      {Incognito)  Unknown. 

Inf.     [Infra)  Beneath  or  below. 

In  f.     {In  fine)  At  the  end  of  the  title,   law,  or  paragraph 

quoted. 
Inst.     Instant. 
Int.     Interest. 
I.  q.      {Idem  quod)  The  same  as. 

J.     Judge,  justice. 

J.  A.     Judge- Advocate. 

Jan.     January. 

J.  P.     Justice  of  the  Peace. 

J.  Prob.      Judge  of  Probate. 

|r.      Junior. 

K.  B.     King's  Bench,  Knight  of  the  Bath. 
K.  C.  B.     Knight  Commander  of  the  Bath. 
Km.     Kilometre  (metric  system). 

L- .  or  £•     {libra)  A  pound  sterling. 

Lb.  or  Lbs.     {Libra,  libra:)  Pound,  pounds. 

L.  c.      Lower  case  (printing)! 

L.  C.  J.     Lord  Chief-Justice. 

L.  C.  L.     Less  than  car-load. 

Lieut.,  or  Lt.     Lieutenant. 

IJt.  D.     {Literartim  Doctor)  Doctor  of  Letters. 

LL.  B.     {Legtim  Baccalaureus)^?i<^&\ox  of  Laws  [see  B.  L.]. 

LL.  D.     {Legum  Doctor)  Doctor  of  Laws. 

LL.  M.     {Legtim  Magisier)  Master  of  Laws. 

Loc.  cit.     {Loco  citato)  In  the  place  cited. 

Lon.      Longitude. 

L.  S.     {locus  Sigilli)  Place  of  tlie  seal. 

M.,  or  Mons.      {Monsieur)  Sir,    Mister. 
M.  A.     Master  of  Arts  [see  A.  M.]. 
Mag.     Magazine.  ' 


ABBREVIATIONS.  45 

Mar.      March. 

Max.      Maximum. 

M.  C.      Member  of  Congress. 

M.  I).  {Mcdiciniv  Doctor)  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

Mdlle.      Mademoiselle. 

Mdse.     Merchandise. 

Mem.      Memorandum. 

Min.      Minimum. 

Messrs.     Messieurs. 

M.  P.      Member  of  Parliament 

MS.,  MSS.      Manuscript,  manuscripts. 

Mo.      Month,  Missouri. 

Mr.      Mister. 

Mrs.      Mistress. 

Mt.      Mount. 

Nat.      Natural,  National. 

Nem.  con.  {Nentine  contradicente)  No  one  contradicting, 
unanimously. 

Nem.  diss.  {Nemiiie  Jisscnticnte)  No  one  dissenting,  unani- 
mously. 

N.  L.  {N^on  liquet)  It  does  not  appear  ;  the  case  is  not 
-clear. 

N.      North. 

N.  N.  E.      Norlh-norlheast. 

N.  N.  W.      North-northwest. 

N.  W.      Northwest. 

No.     Number. 

Nol.  pros,      {yolle prostijui  )  Unwilling  to  prosecute. 

Non  con.      Not  content. 

Non  cul.     (^Non  culpahilis)  Not  guilty. 

Non  pros.     {Non  proscqtdtur)  He  does- not  prosecute. 

Non  seq.     {Noil  seqtiitur)  It  does  not  follow. 

Nov.      November. 

O.  C.     Overcharge. 


46  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Oct.      October. 

O.  K.     All  correct  ;  all  right. 

O.  R.     Owner's  risk. 

O.  T.      On  track. 

Oz.     Ounce. 

T[.     Paragraph,  Page. 

Pes.     Pieces. 

Per  an.     {Per  anniiiii)  By  the  year. 

Pd.     Paid. 

Pkg.     Package. 

Plff.     Plaintiff. 

P.M.     {Post  meridiem)  Afternoon. 

Pm't.     Payment. 

Pp.     Pages. 

Prof.     Professor. 

Pro  tern.     {Pro  temfiore)  For  the  time  being. 

Prox.     {Proximo)    Next  (next  month). 

P.S.     {Post  scriptum)  Postscript. 

Q.     Question. 

Qt.,  qts.     Quart,  quarts. 

Q.  V.      {Quod  vide)   Which  see.      {Quantum  vis)   As  much  as 

you  please. 
Qy.     Query. 

Rec.  Recorder. 

Reed.  Received. 

Recpt.     Receipt. 

Rep.  Representative,   Report. 

Rev.  Reverend. 

R.  R.  Railroad. 

R'y.  Railway. 

Sci.  fa.     {Scire  facias)  Make  known. 
S.  E.     Southeast. 


ABBRE  VIA  riONS.  47 

Scil.,   or  Sc,   or  Ss.      {Scilicet)    That    is    to    say,     to    wit, 

namely. 
Sec.     Section,  Secretary. 
Sec'y.     Secretary. 
Shp't.     Shipment. 
S.  J.  C.     Supreme  Judicial  Court. 
Soc.     Society. 

Sol.  Gen.     Solicitor-General. 
Sq.     Square. 
Sq.  ft.     Square  feet. 
Sr.     Senior. 

S.  S.  E.  South-southeast. 
S.  S.  W.  South-southwest 
S.  W.     Southwest. 

Ter.     Territory. 

Ult.     (  Ultimo)  Last  (last  month). 

U.  P.      Upper  Canada. 

U.  S.     {Ut  supra)  As  above. 


V. 

Verse. 

Vat. 

-Vatican. 

Vid. 

,     (r2V.')See. 

Viz. 

{Vide licit)  Namely. 

Vol. 

volume. 

Vs. 

(  Versus)  Against. 

W. 

West. 

Whf.     Wharf. 

w. 

N.  W.     West-northwest, 

W. 

S.  W.     West-southwest. 

Wt. 

Weight. 

Yd. 

Yard. 

Yr. 

Year. 

48  MUD  ERA'   nWCTUAriON. 

REMARKS. 

Among  modern  business  men  there  is  a  tendency 
to  eliminate  the  period  after  many  of  the  constantly 
occurring  abbreviations,  such  as,  inst,  ult,  prox. 
Probably  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  period 
will  be  considered  an  unnecessary  part  of  all  abbre- 
viations, since  an  abbreviation  is  known  by  its  gen- 
eral form  rather  than  by  the  period  following  ;  in 
other  words,  every  abbreviation  has  some  peculiarity 
of  its  own  which  enables  the  reader  to  tell  it  at 
sight.  The  period  following  does  not  materially  aid 
him  in  determining  what  the  abbreviation  represents, 
if  he  has  not  previously  been  instructed  as  to  its 
meaning. 

Abbreviations  should  never  appear  in  the  body  of 
a  letter.  The  student  will  find  by  experience  that  in 
most  instances  it  is  about  as  easy  to  write  out  the 
full  word  upon  the  machine  as  to  abbreviate  it. 
Abbreviations  are  not  conducive  to  neatness,  ele- 
gance, and  completeness  in  typewritten  matter. 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS. 

The  following  examples  have  been  selected  with 
considerable  care  and  are  intended  to  illustrate  the 
different  uses  of  the  various  marks  of  punctuation. 

In  order  to  thoroughly  master  the  marks  of 
punctuation  as  disposed  of  in  these  examples,  the 
student  should  work  according  to  the  following 
method  ;  copy  the  sentence  given  below  upon  the 
typewriter,  omitting  all  marks  of  punctuation  ;  then 
with  pencil  carefully  punctuate  every  example  ac- 
cording to  preceding  rules  and  instructions,  stu- 
diously comparing  your  work,  after  finishing,  with 
the  punctuation  as  given  in  the  examples,  in  order 
that  you  may  determine  where  you  have  fallen  into 
error. 

•  Continue  this  method  of  practice  until  you  are 
able  to  punctuate  all  the  following  examples  cor- 
rectly. You  are  then  ready  to  continue  the  study 
of  punctuation  from  business  letters  after  the  same 
method  as  given  above,  /.  e.,  choose  an  important 
letter  from  some  standard  letter-book,  such  as 
Humphrey  s  Manual,  Payne  s  Business  Letters, 
etc.,  and  copy  the  letter  upon  the  typewriter,  care- 
fully  giving    it  the  proper  form  but  omitting   all 

49 


50  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

marks  of  punctuation  ;  then  with  pencil  punctuate 
this  letter  to  the  best  of  your  ability,  according  to 
preceding  rules  ;  then  compare  your  punctuation 
with  that  given  in  the  book  and  correct  :  continue 
this  method  for  a  few  weeks  and  you  will  punctuate 
as  well  as  the  best. 

In  How  to  Become  Expert  in  Typewriting,  Mrs. 
Arthur  J.  Barnes  lays  down  the  following  valuable 
plan  for  gaining  proficiency  in  punctuation.  The 
student  will  do  well  to  follow  these  instructions 
implicitly.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  practical 
method  known. 

"  Write  a  letter  three  or  four  times  with  all  the  punctuation 
•  dictated  to  you.  Write  the  same  again  from  dictation  supply- 
ing all  of  the  punctuation  yourself.  Compare  your  work  wiJi 
the  print  and  note  all  errors  in  punctuation,  etc.  If  you  have 
made  mistakes  write  it  again.  If  not,  take  something  new. 
This  practice  will  give  you  the  facility  in  writing  from  dicta- 
tion and  w  ill  also  teach  you  how  to  punctuate  correctly.  In  a 
short  time  it  will  enable  you  to  punctuate  a  letter  well  and 
without  help  the  first  time  you  typewrite  it  trom  dictation.  It 
will  also  add  greatly  to  your  speed." 


^^^fiNGB 


PROMISCUOUS  EXAMPLES. 

It  appears  the  package  in  question  was  shipped  the  day  after 
the  one  which  you  received,  and  the  clerk  there,  happening  to 
write  your  entry  first,  and  the  names  being  so  much  alike, 
thought,  of  course,  they  were  one  and  the  same  item,  and  ac- 
cordingly sent  us  a  tracer  for  your  package  without  looking 
further. 

Vours  uf  the  71)1  inst  is  at  hand,  and  I  must  say  that  we  are 
indebted  to  you  for  setting  us  on  the  right  track,  and  must  also 
apologize  fur  the  annoyance  you  were  put  to  concerning  a 
package  belonging  to  another  party. 

In  relation  to  this  matter,  would  say  that  we  find  to  have 
way-billed  in  all  seven  boxes  to  same  jiarties  on  the  same  date  ; 
and,  as  we  are  unable  to  determine  which  one  of  said  numbers 
is  the  box  in  cpiestion,  we  would  suggest  that  you  have  a  search 
made  of  your  records. 

This  done,  you  can  easily  learn  whether  box  from  11.  B.  & 
Co.  was  or  was  not  included  in  the  seven  boxes. 

We  have  sent  to  your  house  on  three  different  occasions  to 
obtain  a  package,  but  so  far  have  been  unsuccessful. 

1  am  jileased  to  learn  that  you  have  closed  with  Fox  Bros, 
for  1000  barrels  of  molasses  and  500  sugar  Shooks  at  20  cents, 
shipped  to  pay  differential  duty  ;  and  I  hope  you  will  be  able 
to  close  with  Lord  &  High  for  the  empties. 

Still,  rather  than  lose  them,  I  would  take  them  at  70  cents, 
if  we  cannot  obtain  them  at  a  better  figure. 

51 


52  MODERiV  PUNCTUATION. 

Our  commission  on  this  car  was  a  small  one  ;  but,  under  the 
circumstances,  you  may  deduct  50  cents  per  ton  from  the  in- 
voice, as  the  shipment  was  delayed  somewliat  by  the  mill. 

Your  car  of  oats  is  probably  shipped  before  this,  but  we 
have  no  advice  as  yet  ;  it  ought  to  reach  you  in  a  short  time. 

It  costs  6  cents  per  hundred  freight,  or  about  2  cents  per 
bushel,    making   them  cost  you  44-2  there. 

This  is  really  better  for  you  than  buying  goods  in  this  mar- 
ket at  $4.45.  plus  freight  and  cartage,  independent  of  which 
you  receive  unassorted  stock  instead  of  assorted. 

We  enclose  you  herewith,  sample  of  our  No.  900  Broadcloth, 
of  w  hich  we  have  had  an  enormous  sale,  it  being  largely  used 
for  ladies'  suits,  ladies'  and  children's  jackets,  wraps,  etc. 

We  have  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  manufacturing 
of  these  oils,  supplying,  as  we  do,  the  largest  works  in  the 
United  States. 

Enclosed  please  find  affidavit  of  car  of  oats  No.  371,  shipped 
to  Rhinebeck,  April   1st,  short  less  10  per  cent.,  ten  bushels. 

We  regret  the  extraordinary  delay  in  the  arrival  of  your 
flour,  and  will  try  to  see  to  it  that  these  delays  do  not  occur 
again. 

Would  not  be  surprised  if  the  car  reached  you  in  one  or 
two  days,  but  to  make  the  matter  sure,  send  you  twenty 
barrels  to-day. 

This  wagon  has  i  1-2  inch  axles  and  wlieels,  bed  8  feet  4 
inches  long,  3  feet  6  inches  wide  ;  capacity  1500  pounds. 

The  gear  is  painted  straw  color  ;  body  wine  color. 

This  wagon  we  quote  you,  with  flare  boards  and  brake, 
$112.50. 

W'ill  send  sample  in  a  day  or  two  ;  have  none  on  hand  at 
present. 


PROMISCUOUS  EXAMPLES.  53 

We  credit  your  account  witli  $100  on  last  100  bushels  of 
oats  as   requested,   and  hope   same   will    be  satisfactory. 

The  empties,  when  received,  will  be  duly  credited  to  your 
account  ;  i:i  the  meantime  will  ship,  as  directed,  five  gallons 
like  the  last. 

•  Enclosed  find  check  for  $46.90,  in  payment  of  bill  for  55 
empty  oil  l)arrels,  and  blank  receipt,  which  j)lease  sign  and 
return . 

We  are  entirely  out  of  si/.e  32  at  the  price  you  named  ;  liave 
size   317. 

Note  what  you  say  about  8-2  dozen  flannel  shirts,  lot  317, 
which  were  duly  received  to-day. 

We  have  not  the  particular  shade  ordered,  so  send  you  the 
next  best  in  ililTerent  sliades,  not  knowing  that  vou  \\ished 
them  for  a  club. 

We  have  decided  to  close  out  this  season  and,  to  accomplish 
this,  will  sell  to  you  at  10  1-2  cents,  next  60  days,  for  25  piece 
lots  ;   II  1-2  cents,  regular  to  select. 

Russell  &  Erwin  announce  change  of  discount  to  50  and  2 
per  cent.,  and  alter  lists. 

\V§  are  advised  by  Calkins  &  Co.,  of  the  charter  of  sailer 
Gia  Coinino,  with  590  tons  iron  rail  ;  also  steamer  Bt'lsize, 
with  5,000  tons  scrap  iron. 

We  called  to-day  on  the  Edgar  Thompson  Steel  Co.,  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  the  remaining  500  tons,  which  we  proposed 
to  do,  delivered  at  l>altimore  ;  but  while  they  are  disposed 
to  take  tlie  iron,  they  are  not  willing  to  accept  delivery  at 
Baltimore,  and  insist  upon  our  delivering  it  at  Bessemer,  or 
no  sale. 

The  writer  is  under  the  impression  that  Mr.  Wilson  has 
already  sent  you  request  to  have  all  rail  ends  received  for 
our  account,  classified  as  per  our  standard,  that  is,  in  five 
classes  • 


54  MODERN  PUh'CTUATlON. 

Double  heads  over  20  inches  long,  short  ends  9  inches  long  ; 
lumps,  to  make  fifth  class. 

This  was  based  on  our  rate  of  S  cents  per  one  hundred 
pounds  to  Pittsburg,  which,  of  course,  does  not  include 
switching   charges. 

In  reply  we  quote  you  20  pound  T  iron  rails,  first  quality, 
at  3  cents  per  pound,  F.  O.  B.  cars,  Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

The  present  rate  of  freight  t(i  Detroit,  all  rail,  is  17  cents  ; 
rail  and  lake,  12  cents. 

I  have  been  in  correspondence  with  them  about  it  and  Mr. 
Ross  wires  me  under  date  of  i6th  as  follows  :  "  There  is  no 
contract  that  in  any  way,  directly  or  indirectly,  affects  the 
established  rate  on  wrought-iron  bridge  material." 

In  my  opinion,  it  is  not  possible  for  the  C.  15.  <S:  Q.  people 
to  determine  in  case  of  complaint,  whether  any  contract  is  in 
violation  of  the  agreement  ;  that,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  right 
of  judgment  accorded  to  ourselves. 

The  matter  was  brought  to  my  notice  in  this  way  :  A  man 
named  Anson  wlio  sells  second-hand  machines,  called  us  up 
over  the  telephone  and  asked  us  if  the  machine  was  sold. 

The  market  was  somewhat  less  active  this  forenoon,  but 
prices,  which  were  regular  at  the  opening,  were  well  main- 
tained. 

Pacific  Mail  was  the  exception  to  the  rule,  the  price  dropping 
at  length  to  51,  a  decline  in  the  last  three  days  of  about  10  per 
cent. 

As  the  seven  cars  you  received  have  been  unloaded,  it  is  im- 
possible to  again  check  the  number  and  lengths  of  the  rails,  and 
I  must  take  the  invoice  as  corrected  ;  and,  in  so  doing,  have  to 
charge  you  with  645  rails  instead  of  the  number  mentioned  by 
you,  644. 


PROMISCUOUS  EXAMPLES.  55 

The  cars  numbered  67S9  ami  4573,  on  original  invoice,  and 
which  you  have  not  unloaded,  are,  as  per  telegram  to-day,  to 
be  returned,  and  I  have  so  atlvised  our  road  master. 

It  is  returned  to  you  to-day,  by  express,  for  repairs. 

Please  fill  in  the  name  of  the  agent  to  whom  you  desire  the 
policies  mentioned  in  the  accompanying  schedule  transferred  ; 
see  that  the  names  of  the  insured  are  immediately  entered  upon 
his  collection  book,  and  the  collection  jiromptly  attended  io  ; 
then  return  the  schedule  to  this  ofifice. 

On  procuring  Mr.  Eckert's  acknowledgment  for  moneys 
received,  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  insure  regularity,  to  com- 
pare his  signature  with  that  previously  transmitted  to  you. 

Soliciting  the  continuance  of  confidence  heretofore  reposed 
in  us,  we  remain, 

Yours  respectfully. 

By  way  of  reference,  I  beg  to  state  that  I  was  for  many 
years  assistant  and  manager  of  the  house  of  Messrs.  Dodge  & 
Co.,  to  whom  I  am  at  liberty  to  refer  you  for  information 
respecting  my  habits,  character,  etc. 

Should  you  feel  disposed  to  receive  my  orders  and  to  place 
me  on  a  footing  similar  to  that  of  my  predecessor,  I  trust  that 
we  may  have  the  pleasure  of  doing  business  together,  resulting 
in  mutual  profit  and  advantage. 

Replying  to  your  inquiry  of  the  5th,  we  quote  you  our 
"Fav«rite"  shellers  as  follows: 

Without  fan  or  feed  table 15-75. 

With  table    6.00, 

With  fan  and  feed  table 6.50. 

Replying  to  your  inquiry  of  the  5th,  we  quote  you  oui 
"Favorite"  .shellers  as  follows: 

Without  fan  and  feed  table,  $5-75. 

With  table,  6.00, 

With  fan  and  feed  table,  6.50. 


at 

15-75, 

at 

6.00, 

at 

6.50. 

56  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Replying  to  your  inquiry  of  the  5th,  we  quote  you  oui 
"Favorite"  shellers  as  follows: 

\N'ithout  fan  and  feed  table 

With  table 

With  fan  and  feed  table 

Following  please  find  car-load  sales  to-day  :  Cooper  &  Co., 
one  car,  Oxford,  Ala.,  25,000  pounds  dry  salt  cribs,  loose,  7  1-2 
cents. 

Please  forward  as  soon  as  possible,  the  articles  detailed  in 
the  enclosed  list  ;  and  if,  as  I  doubt  not,  the  goods  come  up  to 
my  expectations,  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  extending  my 
relations  with  your  house. 

The  following  rate  will  be  in  effect  from  November  ist, 
18S4,  to  March  31st,  1885,  inclusive: 

By  agreement  of  the  Standard  Committee  of  the  Joint  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  the  jiresent  basis  of  rates  on  articles  named 
below,  viz.,  20  cents  per  one  hundred  pounds,  Chicago  to  New 
York,  may  be  granted  for  the  year  ending  Dec.  1st,  1885. 

Referring  to  Joint  Executive  Circular  No.  475,  "Basis  of 
Investment-bond  Rates  to  Sundry  Western  Points,"  issued 
April  nth,  18S3. 

Notice  has  been  received  from  Mr.  A.  G.  Blair,  G.  F.  A., 
Wheeling  and  Lake  Erie,  and  Cleveland  and  Marietta  Rail- 
roads, that,  on  and  after  February  1st,  1885,  those  roads  will 
require  their  local  traffic  rates  from  junction  points  to  the 
following  local  stations  on  west-bound  traffic  : 

Circular  No.  687, — Joint  Executive  Committee. 

W.  H.  Powers,  Passenger  Agent, 

W.  St.  L.  &  P.  R.  R., 

Toledo,  Ohio. 


PROMISCUOUS  EXAMPLES.  57 

W.  n.  Powers,  Esq., 

Passenger  Agent,  W.  St.  L.  &  P.  R.  R., 

Toledo,  Ohio. 

C.  H.  Carpenter,  (lenr'l  Pasng'r  Ag't, 

G.  T.  R.  R., 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Replying  to  your  favor  of  tlie  7th,  we  cannot  accept  your 
offer  at  the  price  named,  nor  can  we  accept  the  terms. 

We  are  now  closing  out  our  stock  of  spring  and  summer 
shawls  at  greatly  reduced  prices,  and  invite  your  s])ecial  at- 
tention to  this  department. 

Thanking  you  for  your  past  favors,  and  soliciting  a  con- 
tinuance of  same,  we  are,  gentlemen. 

Had  we  known  it  yesterday,  I  think  we  could  have  obtained 
a  better  price  from  Adams. 

I  am  very  much  pleased  with  your  good  work  in  loading 
this  vessel  so  rapidly,  and  hope  you  have  been  able  to  clear 
her  to-day,  as  intimated  in  the  telegram  from  Mitchell  this 
morning. 

We  feel  that  we  are  doing  as  well,  if  not  better,  than  some 
of  the  commission  houses  handling  these  goods. 

Appreciating  past  favors,  we  remain.  Dear  Sirs, 

Yours  faithfully, 


EXPERIMENTAL  EXAMPLES. 

After  giving  the  following  examples  very  careful 
study  as  to  the  correct  punctuation,  take  a  sharp 
pencil  and  accurately  insert  all  marks  of  punctua- 
tion where  they  belong  ;  then  have  some  person 
dictate  them  to  you  upon  the  typewriter.  Do  not 
allow  the  dictator  to  assist  you  in  the  work  by  sug- 
gesting or  reading  the  marks  of  punctuation,  but 
punctuate  to  the  best  of  your  ability  as  you  go 
along.  After  having  gone  through  all  the  experi- 
mental examples  in  this  way,  compare  your  machine 
work  with  your  pencil  work,  and  see  if  you  have 
succeeded  in  punctuating  the  examples  exactly  as 
you  did  with  pencil.  Have  these  examples  dic- 
tated to  you  upon  the  machine  several  times,  con- 
tinuing the  work  until  you  can  take  them  easily 
and  punctuate  them  accurately  without  the  slightest 
hesitation. 

Please  ship  to  the  Kansas  City  D  P  &  R  R  Co  care  of  M  K 
Mclntyre  Kansas  City  Mo  Via  K  C  N  D  R  R  the  articles 
specified  below  and  send  bills  for  same  direct  to  this  office  in 
duplicate  without  fail 

The  above  will  make  one  car  load  this  to  be  shipped  at  once 

5S 


EXPERIMEATTAL   EXAMPLES.  59 

subject  to  inspection  at  Kansas  ('ity  if  you  cannot  fill  the  order 
at  once  return  to  me  by  first  mail 

We  have  given  your  account  credit  for  600  feet  in  the  short 
in  car  15564  amounting  to  $14.40  subject  to  being  allowed  by 
the  shipper 

Your  invoice  of  June  231I  for  car  736  we  have  just  checked 
over  and  find  you  have  made  a  slight  error  in  the  exlension  of 
feet 

Rye  is  worth  22  cts  this  is  with  the  supposition  that  the  grain 
is  dry  and  in  good  condition  for  shi|)|)ing 

I  have  your  letter  in  the  matter  of  rates  on  packing  house 
products  from  Wichita  and  Hutchinson  and  note  particularly 
your  justification  for  tlie  re-adjustment 

All  of  the  above  cars  were  reported  in  bad  onler  in  Central 
R  R  yards  at  Columbus  Ga  November  15' h  also  K  C  S  &  M 
box  car  476  which  was  delivered  to  you  by  K  C  M  &  B 
August  22d  reported  in  C'olumlnis  yards  a  total  wreck  No- 
vember I  5tli 

Please  Iniy  the  following  ribbons  and  send  them  per  U  S  ex- 
press white  moire  ribbon 

3  pieces  No  2     3  pieces  No  4     2  pieces  No  7 

Please  buy  the  following  muslins  Lonsdale  Fruit  of  the  loom 
Pride  of  the  West  Waumsetta  Chapman  all  bleached. 

Replying  to  yours  of  the  5th  we  wired  you  as  follows  we  price 
you  No  27  Eureka  outfit  complete  as  you  describe  at  $335  60 
days  or  11350  contract  terms  fi8  back  freight  we  have  it  here 
letter  to-day 

Should  it  be  that  we  are  owing  this  amount  the  same  would 
not  be  due  before  the  date  October  12th  and  would  not  com- 
mence to  mature  until  November  27th 


6o  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

When  the  coal  department  makes  a  bill  against  your  depart- 
ment for  coal  furnished  stations  etc  you  ascertain  from  Division 

Supt  where  the  cual  has  been  received  writing  them  a  letter  in 
this  form 

Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  28th  which  is  in  answer  to  my 
letter  of  ]\Iay  15th  indicating  to  you  settlement  we  proposed 
and  did  make  in  claim  No  B  631  I  have  this  to  say 

The  reason  given  by  the  clerk  who  wrote  the  letter  dated 
Tune  25th  why  the  Frisco  should  not  join  us  in  this  claim  was 
no  reason  at  all 

Referring  to  attached  papers  we  shall  be  glad  if  you  w  ill  tell 
us  at  once  the  reason  for  tlie  delay  in  transportation  of  car  in 
question 

\Ve  are  unable  to  tell  whether  the  date  of  your  letter  of  Jan 
2 1st  is  7  or  9  it  looks  to  us  like  a  nine 

We  are  at  present  out  of  the  24  by  36  pound  Clifton  manilla 
we  can  send  you  35  at  once  or  we  can  back  order  and  ship  the 
30  pound  on  arrival  of  the  stock 

We  will  send  you  certificates  of  weights  and  draw  on  you  at 
sight  with  invoices  and  bill  of  lading  attached 

In  harrows  we  have  the  Scotch  at  %\  the  three  section  45 
tooth  harrow  at  $5  the  three  section  wood  reversible  at  fioand 
the  three  section  steel  reversible  at  $II 

We  have  now  received  information  from  the  Bain  Wagon  Co 
and  we  can  quote  you  the  freight  wagons  for  which  you  made 
iaquiry  as  follows 

Hope  you  will  be  able  to  capture  this  order  and  promising 
if  you  do  so  to  get  the  goods  as  promptly  as  possible  we  are 

Such  wheat  as  you  sent  us  a  sample  of  is  worth  go  cts  at  your 
place  if  dry 


EXPERIMEXTAL   EXAMPLES.  6 1 

No  29  is  worth  on  track  your  station  56  delivered  here  this 
week  57  and  5S 

Your  letter  of  the  iith  making  inquiry  concerning  the  mat- 
ter of  jewelers  safe  with  chest  inside  also  as  to  the  matter  of 
time  on  57  safe  has  just  come  in  and  we  wired  you  "  yes  "  to 
both  of  your  inquiries  which  we  presume  will  explain  the 
whole    matter 

Will  you  kindly  favor  us  with  your  opinion  of  the  financial 
responsibility  character  etc  of  R  H  Jones  and  Company  giving 
us  as  far  as  you  know  such  facts  as  to  how  much  they  are  sup- 
posed to  be  worth  and  whether  they  have  any  real  estate  in 
their  name  in  your  city  or  elsewhere  thanking  you  in  advance 
and  promising  to  reciprocate  when  called   u])on  I  am 

H  R  Williamson  Division  Superintendent  Armstrong  Kansas 

W  T  Newman  Purchasing  Agent  Rialtn  I'.iiilding  Chicago  111 

W  K  Lambert  District  Supt  X  \'  Life  li'ld'g  St  Louis  Mo. 

R  F  Woodard  Division  Supt  Denver  Col 

W  T  Vance  Esq  Assistant  Master  Mechanic  Holdon  Mo 

W  H  Warren  Master  .Mechanic  St  Louis  Mo 

W  B  Wilson  Supt  Atchison  Kansas 

Martin  Cook  &  I^eipeser  73  Woodard  St  N  Y 

Direct  a  number  of  envelopes,  using  above  ad- 
dresses, giving  each  address  its  proper  form. 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    TYPEWRITER    OPER- 
ATORS. 

1.  Accuracy  first,  speed  afterwards. 

2.  Evenness  of  touch  is  the  prime  requisite  for 
beautiful  work. 

3.  Carry  in  mind  the  following  thoughts  :  cor- 
rect form  ;  evenness  of  touch  ;  accuracy  ;  neat- 
ness ;  speed. 

4.  Learn  to  use  every  finger  on  each  hand  as  soon 
as  possible,  then  practise  "  touch  method "  until 
you  can  operate  the  machine  without  looking  at  the 
key-board. 

5.  Strike  the  marks  of  punctuation  with  the  little 
finger. 

6.  Cultivate  your  touch  until  you  can  strike  the 
period  gently  enough  to  prevent  it  from  puncturing 
the  paper. 

7.  Follow  the  instructions  given  below  on  enter- 
ing the  office  each  morning  and  continue  faithfully 
until  they  are  fixed  habits. 

1.  Clean    the    carriage   and    the   body    of   the 
machine  with  a  soft  rag. 

2.  Use  a  long-handled  brush  and  dust  all  parts 
which  cannot  be  reached  by  the  hand. 

62 


SUGGESTIONS.  63 

3.  Clean  the  back  rod  ;   oil  the  front  rod. 

4.  Brush  the  face  of  the  type  thoroughly  with 
a  stiff  brush. 

5.  Adjust  your  ribbon  from  one  spool  to  the 
other,  so  that  it  will  run  all  day  without 
attention,  also  adjust  it  so  that  the  type  will 
strike  in  a  new  place. 

6.  Index  the  letter  book. 

8.  Never  touch  any  adjustments  on  the  machine 
unless  absolutely  necessary.  A  machine  wears 
itself  so  as  to  work  smoothly  to  certain  adjust- 
ments. If  the  slightest  change  is  made,  the 
machine    does   not    respond    to    action    nearly    so 

well. 

9.  Always  keep  ribbon  rests  on  the  machine  to 

prevent  the  ribbon  from  curling  and  sagging. 

10.  Keep  a  neat  bright  cover  close  at  hand  to 
throw  over  your  machine  when  obliged  to  leave 
it  for  a  short  time. 

11.  Always  use  the  ribbon  reel  in  putting  on 
ribbons. 

12.  Keep  an  old  pair  of  kid  gloves  handy  in 
order  to  protect  your  hands  when  changing  ribbons 
or  cleaning  the  machine. 

13.  You  should  have  in  your  machine  drawer  : 

1.  A  stiff  brush  for  cleaning  type. 

2.  A    long-handled    soft    brush     for     dusting 
machine. 

3.  A  small  oil-can  containing  a  supply  of  the 
best  machine  oil. 


64  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

4.  A  box  of  nickel  polish. 

5.  A  large  soft  cloth  and  a  chamois  skin. 

6.  A  small  screw  driver. 

7.  A   few   extra  rubber   bands    for    the    type- 
writer, 

8.  An  old  pair  of  kid  gloves. 

9.  Some  small-sized  rubber  bands. 

10.  An  envelope  and  postal-card  guide. 

14.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  both  a  purple 
copying  ribbon  and  a  black  record  ribbon  on  the 
machine. 

15.  A  good  method  for  thoroughly  committing 
the  key-board  to  memory  is  as  follows  :  Cut  some 
thin  paper  in  small  discs  just  large  enough  to  fit  the 
top  of  a  key,  then  paste  one  of  these  over  the  "  E  " 
and  one  over  the  "  A  "  key  the  first  day  :  One  over 
the  "  P  "  and  one  over  the  "  Y  "  key  the  next  day, 
and  so  on  until  you  are  operating  a  key-board 
of  blanks.  You  will  then  be  able  to  throw  a  hand- 
kerchief over  the  key-board  and  operate  it  without 
difficulty, 

16.  Whenever  you  get  in  a  hurry  you  are  liable 
to  get  in  trouble. 

17.  The  ability  to  make  perfect  letter-press  copies 
is  one  of  the  chief  requisites  of  office  work. 

18.  Do  not  speak  to  your  employer  unless  it  is 
absolutely  necessary. 

1 9.  Speed  can  best  be  attained  by  the  continuous 
re-writing  of  the  same  letter  or  circular.     Choose  a 


SUGGESTIONS.  65 

representative  six-  or  eight-line  letter  or  circular  and 
write  it  at  least  1000  times. 

20.  Always  address  an  envelope  for  each  letter. 

21.  Never  sign  a  letter  unless  requested  to  do  so. 

22.  Be  sure  to  get  the  proper  enclosures  in  each 
letter. 

23.  Whenever  there  are  any  enclosures  to  be 
made,  mark  on  the  lower  left  hand  corner  of  the 
letter,  before  taking  it  from  the  machine,  "  one  E.," 
''  two  E.,"  etc.,  according  to  the  number  of  enclos- 
ures to  be  inserted. 

24.  Be  sure  that  all  envelopes  are  correctly  ad- 
dressed :  many  a  stenographer  has  lost  his  position 
through  no  other  fault  than  addressing  envelopes 
incorrectly. 

25.  Avoid  as  much  as  possible  asking  your  em- 
ployer for  explanations,  or  to  repeat  what  he  has 
dictated.  Of  course  explanations  are  in  order  at 
times,  but  make  them  as  few  and  far  between  as 
possible. 

26.  When  copying  exceedingly  important  work, 
always  use  a  line  marker  to  avoid  all  possiljility  of 
losing  or  transposing  a  line. 

27.  Do  not  work  without  a  copyholder  of  some 
kind. 

28.  Always  have  on  hand  a  scratcher  and  a  rubber 
eraser  also,  but  use  them  as  little  as  possible. 

29.  Never  put  a  pencil  or  a  pen  correction  on 
your  typewritten  work. 


(id  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

30.  Practise  the  art  of  making  beautiful  copies 
upon  the  Mimeograph  and  other  duplicating  devices 

31.  Always  operate  your  machine  with  the  light- 
est finger  tension  possible. 

32.  Use  the  finger  movement  entirely  when 
operating  the  machine. 

2)2^.  If  your  machine  jars  each  time  the  carria[';e 
spaces  your  carriage  tension  is  too  tight. 

34.  Make  yourself  thoroughly  competent  before 
entering  an  office,  even  if  it  takes  a  year  ;  then  ask 
for  your  true  value. 

35.  Make  yourself  familiar  with  every  kind  and 
quality  of  paper  on  the  market,  and  learn  to  choose 
paper  suitable  to  the  work  which  is  to  be  done  ;  also 
determine  what  kind  of  i)aper  will  produce  the  best 
results. 

2^().  Make  yourself  familiar  with  all  kinds,  quali- 
ties, and  colors  of  ribbons  on  the  market. 

37.  Be  willing  to  do  any  reasonable  amount  of 
work  outside  of  your  profession  ;  you  may  be  an 
expert,  but  no  business  firm  can  afford  to  let  you 
remain  idle.      Get  a  good  salary,  then  work  for  it. 

38.  You  will  always  find  good  fresh  air,  beautiful 
outlook,  and  lots  of  room  on  the  top  round  of  the 
ladder. 

39.  Practise  tabulating  on  the  machine  until  you 
can  do  it  neatly  and  accurately. 

40.  Use  good  judgment  as  to  when  to  use  double 
and  single  space. 


.SUGGESTIONS.  6/ 

41.  When  a  mark  of  punctuation  occurs  before  a 
direct  quotation,  the  punctuation  mark  should  be 
struck  first,  then  the  quotation  mark.  If  a  punc- 
tuation mark  occurs  at  the  end  of  a  direct  quota- 
tion, the  rule  will  hold  good. 

42.  Never  remove  paper  from  rear  of  the  ma- 
chine. 

43.  Be  careful  about  your  syllabication  at  the 
end  of  a  line.  Inaccurate  syllabication  denotes 
carelessness  and  ignorance. 

44  Do  not  cramp  or  curve  your  fingers  while 
operating  ;  keep  them  as  nearly  straight  as  possible. 

45.  Cultivate  the  ability  to  take  in  long  sentences. 
Don't  be  a  "  bobber,"  /.  e.,  one  who  bobs  his  head 
from  his  notes  to  the  machine  every  few  words. 

46.  Practise  writing  on  ruled  lines  so  you  can  do 
so  easily  when  occasion  requires. 

47.  Cultivate  a  sharp,  (juick,  sudden,  but  delicate 
stroke  :  do  not  hammer. 

48.  Practise  making  duplicates  with  carbon  paper 
until  you  can  do  it  neatly  and  accurately. 

49.  If  you  cannot  spell,  do  not  call  yourself  a 
stenographer  until  you  can. 

50.  In  your  odd  moments  look  up  the  principal 
shipping  points  adjacent  to  your  city. 

51.  Use  abbreviations  as  little  as  possible. 

52.  Keep  at  hand  a  package  of  pins,  some  differ- 
ent-sized paper  fasteners,  a  bottle  of  mucilage,  and 
some  manuscript  covers. 


68  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

53.  File  away  each  day's  answered  letters  early 
the  following  morning. 

54.  A  dim  ribbon  can  sometimes  be  made  to  do 
better  work  by  turning  it  under  side  up. 

55.  Practise  putting  on  rubber  bands  until  you 
can  do  it  quickly. 

56.  Practice  taking  dictation  on  the  machine  until 
you  can  do  such  work  accurately  and  rapidly. 

57.  In  contracts  and  important  documents  give 
all  amounts  both  their  written  and  numerical  form  ; 
thus,  twenty-five  dollars  ($25).  In  ordinary  busi- 
ness letters  the  numerical  form  will  do  ;  thus, 
$25.00,  or  $25. 

58.  Always  use  an  envelope  guide  when  directing 
a  large  number  of  envelopes. 

59.  Always  try  to  repair  your  own  machine  as 
quickly  as  possible,  but  do  not  spend  too  much  time 
over  it ;  rather  send  for  the  regular  repairer. 

60.  You  cannot  successfully  re-ink  an  old  ribbon. 

6 1 .  Buy  your  ribbons  by  the  half  dozen  or  dozen. 

62.  Set  your  standard  so  high  that  if  you  fail  you 
will  still  be  above  the  average,  even  in  failure. 

63.  Remember  you  cannot  confine  the  world  to 
one  system  of  shorthand  or  typewriting,  or  one  make 
of  typewriter,  any  more  than  you  can  stop  Niagara  ; 
still,  you  want  the  best. 

64.  Be  careful  to  have  your  back  partially  to  the 
light  when  operating  the  typewriter  ;  at  night  be 
sure  to  have  the  machine  directly  zmder  the  light. 


SUGGESTIONS.  69 

65.  Know  your  machine;  give  its  mechanical 
construction  careful  study  so  you  will  know  the 
ofifice  of  each  part. 

66.  Practise  designs  for  ornamentation  so  that 
when  occasion  requires  you  can  do  such  work. 

67.  Hold  down  the  space  bar  and  before  releasing 
if  strike  lower  case  "  c,"  and  the  left  oblique  frac- 
tional dash  (  /  )  and  you  will  have  a  suitable  char- 
acter for  the  word  "  cents  "  ;  thus,  50'/. 

68  Do  not  space  between  parentheses  and  the 
expression  they  enclosed. 

69.  Do  not  make  a  space  either  before  or  after  a 
hyphen. 

70.  When  a  letter  occupies  one  full  page  and  over 
always  head  the  next  page  with  the  initials  of  the 
party  or  firm  to  whom  you  are  writing,  the  number 
of  the  page,  and  the  date  of  the  letter. 

71.  Be  careful  not  to  get  ribbon  stains  on  key  tops. 

72.  Sapolio  will  remove  ribbon  stains  from  the 
fingers. 

73.  Put  a  darning  needle  or  a  match  in  the  cork 
of  the  oil  bottle.  The  eye  of  the  needle  or  the  end 
of  the  match  will  take  up  enough  oil  to  use  on  any 
part  of  the  machine. 

74.  An  exclamation  point  can  be  made  with  the 
colon  and  the  apostrophe. 

75.  Use  the  quotation  marks  and  apostrophe  to 
express  feet,  inches,  and  seconds  ;  thus  6  ft.,  6  in. 
equals  6'  6". 


70  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

76.  When  writing  a  telegram,  never  divide  a  word 
at  the  end  of  a  line. 

77.  When  writing  single  space  between  lines,  use 
double  space  between  paragraphs. 

78.  Do  a  little  more  work  than  you  are  paid  for 
and  you  will  get  your  dues  by  and  by. 

79.  To  make  a  continuous  line  upon  the  type- 
writer hold  the  hyphen  lightly  against  the  paper  and 
push  carriage  back  and  forth  a  few  times. 

80.  The  use  of  a  period  after  an  abbreviation  does 
not  prevent  the  use  of  another  point  immediately 
after  it. 

St.  Leaders  are  made  by  a  continuous  striking  of 
the  period  or  dash. 

82.  The  ability  to  operate  the  typewriter  without 
looking  at  the  key-board,  will  save  you  four  hours 
out  of  eight,  as  it  permits  the  eye  to  rest  con- 
tinuously on  the  copy. 

83.  You  should  train  your  little  finger  to  hold 
down  the  upper  case  key. 

84.  Small  "L  "  may  be  used  to  express  one,  and 
capital  "  O  "  the  cipher. 

85.  Point  off  large  sums  or  amounts  into  divisions 
of  three  figures. 

86.  Fraction.3  may  be  expressed  in  two  ways,  3/4, 
3-4  ;  the  latter  being  most  common. 

87.  Do  no  scratching,  erasing,  or  "  Xing"  if  pos- 
sible to  avoid  it  ;  but  if  absolutely  necessary  to 
erase,  first  scratch  the  paper  slightly  with  a  knife. 


SUGGESTIONS.      ^,  C/T  71 

then  use  the  best  quality  of  rubber  eraser  afterwards. 
Select  a  rubber  full  of  grit. 

88.  You  can  make  no  erasures  in  carbon  work  ;  all 
errors  must  be  "'  Xed  "  ;  thus,  XXX. 

89.  Write  the  body  of  a  telegram  or  cablegram  in 
capitals. 

90.  Benzine  may  be  used  to  clean  type  and  soften 
thick  oil  on  different  jjarts  of  the  machine. 

91.  Teach  yourself  to  strike  a  type  key  and  the 
upper-case  key  at  the  same  moment,  and  make  a 
perfect  capital. 

92.  In  figuring  the  number  of  words  on  a  page, 
count  12  words  to  each  line  and  multiply  by  the 
number  of  lines. 

93.  An  operator  furnishing  his  own  machine 
should  receive  compensation  at  a  higher  propor- 
tionate rate. 

94.  A  word  written  in  capitals  attracts  more 
attention  than  an  underlined  word.  Capitals, 
to  secure  attention  ;  underscored  words  for  em- 
phasis. 

95.  Take  some  standard  shorthand  magazine 
such  as  the  Phonographic  World,  the  National 
Stenographer,  etc. 

96.  Buy  some  practical  work  on  typewriting. 
Touch  Writing,  Practical  Typewriting,  How  to  Be- 
come Expert  in  Typewriting,  are  the  best. 

97.  Buy  some  standard  work  on  letter  writing, 
such  as,  Humphrey  s  Manual. 


72 


MODERN  P  UNC I '  UA  TION. 


98.  Buy  a  book  called  100  Valuable  Suggestions  to 
Shorthand  IFn'ters. 

99.  The  Centering  Scale  given  below  will  prove  a 
valuable  aid  in  quickly  determining  centering  points. 

Count  the  number  of  letters  and  spaces  in  the 
heading  which  you  wish  to  place  in  center  of  page, 
then  refer  to  scale  below.  If  your  heading  has  12 
letters  and  spaces  in  it,  you  would  begin  at  either 
26  or  27  on  the  scale  ;  if  your  heading  has  41  spaces 
and  letters  in  it,  you  would  begin  at  1 2  on  the  scale  ; 
if  your  heading  has  18  letters  and  spaces  in  it  you 
would  begin  at  either  23  or  24  on  the  scale,  etc. 

CENTERING    SCALE. 


1  32 

17  24 

33     16 

49—8 

3  31 

19  23 

35  IS 

51   7 

5  30 

21 — 22 

37  14 

53-6 

7  29 

23  21 

39  13 

55  5 

9—28 

25  20 

41   12 

57-4 

II — 27 

27  19 

43  II 

59  3 

13  26 

29—18 

45   10 

61 — 2 

15  25 

31  17 

47   9 

63-1 

100.  Always  address  the  envelope  before  com- 
mencing a  letter. 

10 1.  Be  strictly  confidential  :  do  not  allow  an 
outsider  to  read  a  half  finished  letter  in  the 
machine. 

102.  In  invoicing  capitalize  articles  given. 


HINTS    TO    LETTER    WRITERS. 

1.  Always  omit  a  comma  rather  than  put  it  in  the 
wrong  place. 

2.  Make  an  effort  to  know  where  commas  belong, 
then  put  them  there. 

3.  Be  sure  of  your  spelling ;  leave  nothing  in 
doubt. 

4  In  writing  "  My  dear  Sir,"  capitalize  My  and 
Sir,  but  not  dear.  In  writing  "  Dear  Sir"  capital- 
ize both  words  ;  in  "Very  respectfully,"  etc.,  cap- 
italize only  the  first  word. 

5.  Do  not  write  the  sign  for  "and  "  (&)  except  in 
Company  or  firm  names. 

6.  Never  write  Co.  for  Company  in  the  body  of  a 
letter. 

7.  Never  put  a  period  after  ist,  2d,  3d,  4th,  etc., 
nor  after  Miss. 

8.  Never  contract  the  word  Messieurs  into  Mess.; 
always  use  Messrs. 

9.  When  expressing  No.  i.  No.  2,  No.  3,  etc.,  always 
use  No.  for  the  word  number  and  the  figures  for 
the  actual  number,  as  shown. 

10.  Always  write  dates  in  figures. 

1 1.  Avoid  abbreviations  in  the  body  of  a  letter. 

73 


HABITS  OF   BUSINESS. 

1.  Industry.  3.  Calculation.  5.   Punctuality. 

2.  Arrangement.    4.  Prudence.      6.  Perseverance. 


"WHAT   IS   PUNCTUATION?" 

"  If  a  man  thinks  in  crisp  sentences  he  will  punc- 
tuate with  semicolons  ;  if  he  has  a  pure  epigram- 
matic style  of  composition  he  will  employ  more 
periods  than  other  points.  If  his  sentences  are  long 
and  involved  he  will  use  commas  ;  if  interrogative, 
interrogations  ;  if  ambiguous,  parentheses,  so  it  may 
be  said  that  we  punctuate  as  we  feel.  Not  as  we 
feel  that  so/ncbody  else  feels,  not  in  the  sense  that 
another  would  imply,  but  in  our  oivn  sense  of  what 
tve  would  imply  in  using  the  same  words  that 
another  uses  to  express  an  idea." 


SYLLABICATION    AND    PRONUNCIATION. 

Few  stenographers  realize  the  importance  of 
giving  the  above-named  subjects  the  proper  time 
and  attention.  Nothing  indicates  such  complete 
ignorance  of  word  construction  as  inaccurate  and 
faulty  syllabication  at  the  end  of  a  line.  Amanu- 
enses should  take  great  care  to  make  a  thorough 
study  of  syllabication  in  order  that  all  words  may 
be  correctJy  divided.  The  vocabulary  of  business 
terms  given  at  the  end  of  this  book  will  enable  the 
student  to  master  the  proper  syllabication  of  many 
of  the  commercial  terms  in  use. 

As  regards  pronunciation,  the  study  of  this  art 
will  do  more  to  make  you  accurate  in  spelling  than 
any  other  study  outside  of  syllabication.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  find  a  person  who  has  given  proper 
attention  to  syllabication  and  pronunciation,  who 
cannot  spell  accurately. 

In  studying  a  word  with  reference  to  its  proper 
syllables  and  the  proper  sounding  of  each  syllable 
(or  pronunciation),  the  student  naturally  absorbs, 
along  with  this  study,  a  correct  concept  of  the 
proper  spelling  of  the  word,  and  this  without  appar- 

75 


76  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

ent  effort  on  his  part.  To  master  a  word  i-s  it 
should  be  mastered,  implies  the  following  : 

First  :  A  correct  idea  of  the  letters  used  in  the 
construction  of  that  word. 

Second  :  A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  syllables 
into  which  these  letters  may  be  divided. 

Third  :  A  correct  knowledge  of  the  proper  sound- 
ing of  these  syllables,  or  pronunciation. 

Fourth  :  A  complete  knowledge  of  the  various 
definitions  belonging  to  these  words. 

Fifth  :  A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  general  use 
and  application  of  the  word  (which  implies  a  mas- 
tery of  the  definition  most  commonly  used). 

One  of  the  latest  and  best  works  on  syllabication 
and  pronunciation  is  Phyfe's  "jooo  Words  Often  Mis- 
pronou  ced,  and  the  intelligent  and  ambitious  reader 
who  wishes  to  educate  himself  thoroughly  in  the 
right  direction  cannot  well  afford  to  be  without 
Phyfe's  work,  which  can  be  used  profitably  in 
connection  with  this  volume. 


LIST     OF     BUSINESS     AND     TECHNICAL 

TERMS. 

In  order  to  use  this  vocabulary  of  words  effec- 
tively, the  student  should  work  according  to  the 
following  plan  : 

Beginning  with  the  first  word,  commit  to  memory 
the  correct  spelling  for  the  first  twenty  words  ;  re- 
peated practice  by  writing  them  out  in  their  correct 
form  upon  the  typewriter,  or  in  longhand,  is  the 
best  way  to  secure  this  result. 

Now  take  Webster's  Unabridged,  and  make  a 
careful  study  of  all  the  meanings  of  each  word  as 
given  therein. 

Then  use  each  of  the  twenty  words  in  business 
sentences  of  your  own  construction,  until  you  have 
their  general  position  and  relation  firmly  fixed  in 
mind. 

By  observing  this  method  you  will  master  : 

First.    The  correct  spelling. 

Second.  The  exact  meaning. 

Third.  The  proper  application  of  every  word  in 
the  handbook. 

Nothing  more  can  be  desired. 

77 


78  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

In  compiling  this  list  of  words  it  has  been  the 
aim  of  the  author  to  encompass  only  the  common 
terminology  of  the  business  world,  omitting  all 
exceptional  words. 

The  only  true  foundation  for  a  student  to  build 
upon  is  a  thorough  mastery  of  the  simple  and  ordi- 
nary words  of  business  life,  leaving  time  and  expe- 
rience to  gradually  develop  him  in  a  knowledge  of 
extraordinary  and  unusual  words. 

Many  of  the  most  common  words  in  every-day 
life  are  most  difficult  of  formation  in  shorthand,  and 
present  the  most  awkward  outlines  ;  hence  a  second 
reason  for  introducing  so  many  short  and  familiar 
words.  The  student  will  find  the  shorthand  analysis 
of  such  words  of  incalculable  value  to  him.  He 
should  carefully  determine  a  brief  shorthand  out- 
line for  each  word  in  the  list,  then  fill  in  this  char- 
acter on  the  line  to  the  left  of  each  word. 

After  completing  the  entire  list  according  to  this 
method,  he  should  then  carefully  practise  each  out- 
line until  he  can  execute  it  readily  and  read  it  at 
sight  without  the  slightest  hesitation. 

This  plan  is,  of  course,  applicable  to  all  systems 
of  shorthand. 


" '  --i. 


LIST. 


abandonment 
.  abatement 
abduction 
abeyance 
abnormal 
Abraham 
absolutely 
abundance 
abuttals 
accent 
acceptance 
acceptor 
accessory 
accommodate 
accommodation 
accompany 


accompanying 

accomplice 

accomplish 

accomplishment 

accordance 

accountable 

accountant 

accredited 

accretion 

accrue 

accumulate 

accumulation 

accuracy 

accurately 

accuse 

accustomed 


79 


8o 


MODERN   PUNCTUATION. 


acknowledge 
acknowledging 
acknowledgment 
acquaint 
acquaintance 
acquiesce 
acquiescence 
•  acquire 

-  acquit 

-  acta 

-  activity 

-  acuteness 

-  adapted 

-  additional 

-  address 

-  adheres 

-  adjacent 

-  adjourn 

-  adjustment 

-  adjutant 


administering 
administration 


administrator 

—  adoption 

—  ad  valorem 

—  advancement 

—  advantageous 

—  advantageously 

—  advertise 

—  advertisement 

—  advertising 

—  advisability 

—  advisable 

—  advisement 

—  affiant 

—  affidavit 

—  affiliation 

—  affirmant 

—  affirmation 

—  affix 


BUSINESS  AND   TECHNICAL    TERMS.        8 1 


affray 
aforesaid 


—  agencies 

—  agency 

—  aggregate 
~  aggressive 

—  aggrieve 

—  aghast 

—  agricultural 

—  agriculturist 

—  aisle 

—  Alabama 
^  albatross 

—  albumen 

—  albuminoids 

—  alderman 

—  alias 

—  alibi 

—  alienation 

—  allegation 


alleging 

allowance 

alphabet 

alteration 

alternate 

alternative 

amanuenses(plural) 

amanuensis 

amass 


-  ambiguity 

-  amenable 

-  amendment 

-  amicably 

-  Amsterdam 

-  analysis 
_  analyze 

-  ancestor 

-  angle 

-  annex 


/ 


announce 


82 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


annoyance 

annual 

annually 

annuity 

ante 

anthracite 

anticipation 

antiseptic 

anxiety 

anxiously 

anybody 

apologize 

a  priori 

apparel 

apparently 

appeal 

appearance 

appellant 

appellate 

a[iiienclant 


appliances 

application 

appoint  • 

appointment 

apportiomnent 

appraisement 

appreciate 

appreciating 

appreciation 

apprentice 

apprenticeship 

apprise 

approaching 

approbation 

appropriating 

appropriation 

approval 

approximate 

appurtenance 

arbitration 


BUSINESS  AND   TECHNICAL   TERMS. 
arbitrator  


83 


^  architect 
^  architectural 

-  arisen 

-  Arizona 

-  Arkansas 
arraign 
arrangement 
arrears 
arson 
article 
articulate 
asbestos 
ascertain 
asphaltum 
assassination 
assault 
assertion 
assess 
assessment 


assessor 

assign 

assignee 

assignment 

assignor 


__-  assimilation 
^  -  assistance 
— ,  assistant 
—  associate 


—  association 

—  assortment 
-—  assume 

—  assurance 


assuring 

attaching 

attainment 

attachment 

attempt 

attestation 

attorney 


84 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

attract 

audience 

authority 

authorize 

automatic 

autumn 

auxiliary 

available 


axe 


axis 


axle 


backward 

badge 

baffle 

bagatelle 

baggage 

balance 


Balbriggan 


balconies 


BUSINESS  AND    TECHNICAL     TEA'MS.      8  = 


billiard 

birthday 

biscuit 

bitumen 

bituminous 

blackmail 

blase 

bleached 

Bohemian 

bologna 
.  bolster 
,  bona  fuit' 
.  bonanza 
.  bondholder 
_  bonus 
_  bookkeeper 
_  bookkeeping 
_  boss 
_  boulder 
bowlder 


box 

brandy 

bribery 

bristle 

Britannia 

broadcast 

broadcloth 

brokerage 

Brussels 

brutality 

-  bud 
.  buff 

-  bulletin 

-  bullion 

-  buoyancy 

-  burdensome 

-  buried 
^  bury 

_  bustle 
business 


86 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


busy 

cablegram 

calculate 

calculating 

calendar 

calender  (press) 

California 

calorific 

cambist 
.  Canadian 
.  canal 
.  cancel 
.  cancellation 
.  candidate 
.  cannel 
. canon 

,  canvas  (cloth) 
.  canvass 

canvasser 


capabilities 

capacity 

capias 

capita 

capital 

capitalist 

capitol  (building) 

carcass 

cardinal 

carefully 

cargo 
.  carriage 
.  carrier 
.  carie-blanche 
.  cashier 
.  cashmere 

-  catalogue 

-  caterer 
.  caveat 

cement 


BUSINESS  AND 

censured 

central 

centre 


TECHNICAL    TERMS.       87 

chimney 

■ chincliilla 


-  ceremony 

-  certificate 

-  certify 

^  chafing 

cliallenge 
.  champagne 

-  channel 

.  character 
characteristic 
chargeable 
chattel 

chattel  mortgage 
cheat 
check 

chcf-d  '(euvre 
chemical 
cheviot 


-  chisel 


—  choose 

—  chudda 

—  church 

—  circle 

—  circular 


circumstance 
-  circumstantial 

citation 

cites 
.  citizen 
.  civility 

claimant 

claim  department 

classification 

classify 

clearance 

clearing-house 


88 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


clergyman 

clerkship 

clerical 

clog 

codicil 

coffer 

cognizance 

coin 

coke 

collapse 

collateral 

collection 

Colorado 

combination 

commence 

commencement 

commerce 

commercially 
.  commissary 
.  commission 


—  commissioner 

—  commitment 
_  committee 

—  commodious 

—  commodity 
_  commonly 

communicate 

communication 

community 

company 

_  comparatively 
_  compare 
_  comparing 

comparison 

compatibility 

compel 

compensate 

compensation 

_  competency 
_  competent 


BUSINESS  AND    'J'F.CHNICA L     I'EKMS.      89 

confirming 

conformity 

congregation 

. Connecticut 

connecting 

. connection 

consanguinity 


competition 
competitors 
compilation 
complete 
compliance 
component 
compromised 
comptroller 
compulsion 
computation 
concern 
concession 
concurrence 
condemnation 
conference 
.  conferred 
.  confidence 
.  confidentially 
. confirm 
.  confirmation 


conscience 
conscientious 
conscious 
consecutive 
consequence 
consequently 
consideration 
consignee 
consignment 
consignor 
consistent 
.  consistently 
.  conspiracy 


90 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


■  constituents 

■  constructive 
consul 
consular 
consummate 
contentious 
contract 
contingency 
contingent 
continental 
continuance 
continuing 
continuity 
continuous 
contraband 
contractor, 
contradict 
contrary 
contribute 
contribution 


contributory 

controvert 

convenience 

convenient 

conveniently 

conventionalities 

conveyance 

cooperage 

co-operate 

co-operation 

copartnership 

cordage 

cordial 

corduroy 

corporal 

corporation 

corporeal 

co-respondent 

correctness 

correspondent 


BUSnVESS  AND    TECHNICAL    TERMS.       Ql 

critical 

criticise 


correspondence 

council 

councilor 

counsel 

counselor 

countenance 

counterfeit 

countermand 

counterplea 

countersign 

-  coupon 
court 

-  courtesy 

-  covenant 

-  crated 

-  creation 

-  credential 

-  creditor 

-  criminal 

-  crinoline 


—  cross-bar 

—  cross-bill 

—  cross-examination 

—  crude 

-  cultivator 
cumulative 

— ^  currency 

-  custodian 


customary 

custom-house 

cylinder 

Dakota 

damage 

dangerous 

dealer 

debatable 

debenture 


92  MODERN 

. debited 

debtor 

_ deceased 

. decide 

decidedly 

decision 

declaration 

decree 

. dedication 

. dedimus 

. deduction 

defalcation 

defalcator 

defamation 

defaulter 

defeasance 

defendant 

deferred 

. deficiency 

deficient 


PUNCl  UATION. 


definitely 

defray 

Delaware 

delegate 

delinquency 

deliverance 

demandant 

demonstrative 

demurrage 

demurrer 

denial 

denomination 

depose 

deposit 

depositor 

depreciate 

depreciation 

derelict 

derivative 

describe 


BUSINESS  AND 

description 

descripture 

desirable 

desirous 

desist 

desperately 

destination 

detaclied 

detail 

determine 

deterred 

deviation 

device 

devisee 

diacritical 

difference 

different 

differential 

dignity 

dilapidation 


TECHNICAL    T/iKMS.       93 

dimension 

diphthong 

— director 

■ disability 

disadvantage 

disagreeable 

disappear 

disappoint 

disappointment 

disburse 

■ disbursement 

discharging 

— disciple 

disclaimer 

discommode 

discontinuance 

discontinue 

discovery 

discrepancy 

discretion 


94  MODERN 

discriminate 

disencumber 

dishonest 

dishonor 

disinclined 

disinterested 

dispatch 

dispelled 

— disposal 

disposition 

— dispute 

dissimilar 

. dissipated 

dissolution 

dissolved 

— distance 

distinguish 

— distribution 

disturbance 

dividend 


PUNCTUATION. 


diverted 

dockage 

doctor 

document 

documentary 

domestic 

double-head 

drainage 

drawback 

drawee 

drawer 

draw-head 

drayage 

dubious 

duplicate 

duration 

die 

dye  (color) 

dyeing 

dying 


BUSINESS  AND 

earliest 

easement 

eccentric 


—  economy 

—  efficacious 
-  educate 

—  ejection 

—  ejectment 

—  electric 

—  electrical 

—  electrotype 

—  elevator 

—  eliminated 

—  elsewhere 

—  emancipation 

—  embargo 

—  embarrass 

—  embezzle 

—  embezzlement 

—  embossed 


TECHNICAL    TEH  MS.      95 

embrace 

embroidered 

emergency 

emigrant 

— emissary 

empanel 

employee 

emporium 

empties 

empty 

enclosure 

encounter 


encourage 

endeavor 

endeavoring 

endorsement 

endowment 

energetic 

en  f  ranchisement 

engagement 


96 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


engross 


en  masse 


enormous 
-  enterprise 
.  entertainment 

entitle 
.  entrance 
enunciate 
envelope 
equalize 
equally 
equipment 
equitable 
equivalent 
erasing 
erection 
erroneous 
escaping 
escheat 


especially 

essential 

establish 

estate 

estimate 

estoppel 

etiquette 

European 


-_  eventually 
eviction 

-  evidence 

-  evidently 
_  exacting 

-  exactness 
exceedingly 

~   exceptionable 

-  exceptionably 

-  excessively 

-  exchange 

-  exchequer 


BUSINESS  AND    TECHNICAL    TERMS.      97 


■  exclusively 
executive 
executor 
executory 
executrix 
exemplification 
exemplary 
exercise 
exhaust 
exhibit 
ex  officio 
exorable 
exorbitant 
ex  parte 
expenditure 
expense 
explanation 
export 
exposure 
express 


expunge 

expurge 

extension 

extracture 

extravagance 

extremely 

eyelet 

facilitate 

facilities 

facility 

fastidious 

faultless 

favorable 

feasibility 

February 

felony 

fidelity 

fiduciary 

filiation 


98  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

finance  

financial  

financier  

fireplace  

firm  

fixture  

, flannels  

. Florida  

fluctuate  

fluctuation  

. fluid  — 


—  forbearance 

—  foreclose 

—  foreclosure 

—  foregoing 

—  foreign 

—  forfeit 

—  forgery 

—  forgetful 

—  formerly 


fortnight 

fortunate 

fractional 

franchise 

frankly 

fraudulent 

freight 

Friday 

friendship 

frieze 

frontage 

frontier 

fulfilled 

fulness 

furniture 

furrow 

furtherance 

galvanize 
gamble 


BUSINESS  AND    TECHNICAL    TERMS.      99 


-  gambol  (frolic) 

-  garnishment 

-  gaseous 
.  gauze 

.  gear 
generally 
generating 
generosity 
generous 
genuineness 
geographical 
Georgia 
gladsome 
glycerine 
government 
gradually 
grantee 
grantor 
gratified 
gravity 


—  grievance 

—  grocery 
— -  gross 

—  guage 

~  guarantee 

—  guaranty 

—  guardian 

—  guidance 

—  habeas  corpus 

—  habitual 

—  handsome 

—  hand-writing 

—  harass 

—  hardvi'are 

—  harmony 
~  harrow 

—  hazardous 

—  heifers 

—  heirloom 


lOO 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


hereby 

hereditament 
.  hereunto 

hesitate 
.  hexagon 

hinged 
.  hitherto 

-  hoister 

.  holographic 

-  homestead 

-  hominy 

-  horizontal 

-  hostility 

-  Housatonic 

-  householder 

-  humorously 

-  hyphen 

-  hypothecate 

-  hypothecation 


Idaho 

identify 

ignorance 

illegal 

illegitimate 

Illinois 

illustrate 

illustration 

imaginary 

immaterial 

immediately 

-  impeachment 

-  impertinence 

-  impious 

-  implement 

-  implicit 

-  imply 

-  import 

-  important 

-  impossibility 


BUSINESS  AND    TECHNICAL    TERMS.     lOI 


impossible 

impression 

imprimis 

imprisonment 

improvement 

impugn 

impunity 

inability 

inaccuracy 

inadequacy 

inadmissible 

inadvertence 

inattention 

incapable 

inception 

inchoate 

incidental 

incompatible 

incompetent 

inconsiderable 


inconsistent 

inconvenience 

incorporation 

incorrect 

incumbent 

incumbered 

incumbrance 

incurable 

indebtedness 

indefeasible 

indefinite 

indemnify 

indemnifying 

indemnity 

indenture 

independent 

Indiana 

Indianapolis 

indict  (charge) 

indicting; 


I02 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


indictment 

indirectly 

indispensable 

indite  (compose) 

inditing 

individual 

individualism 


inference 


— - —  individually 

indorsee 

indorsement 

indorser 

induce 

inducement 

industrial 

industrious 

inexorable 

infallible 

infamous 

infancy 

infer 


—  inferior 

—  infringement 


ingredient 


inherit 

initials 

injunction 

innocence 

innocent 

innocently 

innuendo 

inquiry 

insensible 

insignificant 

itt  situ 

insolvency 

insolvent 

inspection 

installment 

institute 


Bi'ShVESS  AND    TECHNICAL    TERMS.      IO3 


instruct 


insufficient 

insupportable 

insurable 


insurance 

intact 

integrity 

intelligence 

intelligent 

intelligently 

intemperance 

interchange 

.  interfere 

.  interior 

.  interlocutor 

.  interlocutory 

-  intermural 

-  international 
.  interplea 

.  interrogatory 


interrupt 
intersecting 
interceding 
interspersed 
interstate 
intervening 
interview 
inthrall 
intimate 
intolerable 
.  intoxicating 
.  introduction 
.  invariably 
,  invitation 
,  inventory 
.  investigation 
_  investment 
.  investor 
_  invoice 
.  involuntary 


I04  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

Iowa  judgment 

irksome 

irksomeness  

. irregularity  

, irrelevant  

irresponsible  — 

irrevocable  — 

issuable  — 


issue 
item 
itemize 

jelly 

jeopardize 

Jersey 

jointly 

jointure 
.  joist 

journalist 
.  joyful 


judicial 

juices 

junction 

jurisdiction 

jurisprudence 

juryman 

justice 

justify 

jute 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

knowledge 

laborer 

lavender 

leakage 

lease 

legacy 


BUSINESS  AND    TECHNICAL   TERMS.      10$ 


-  legatee 

.  legislature 

.  legitimate 

.  lessee 

.  levy 

.  liability 
libel 
liberal 
librarian 
lien 
lighter 
lighterage 
limitation 
lineal 
linoleum 
liquidate 
literature 
litigation 
locomotive 
loss 


lottery 
.  I^ouisiana 

lucre 

luggage 
.  lunatic 

magistrate 

magnanimous 

Maine 

maintain 

malleable 

mammon 

manacle 

management 

manager 

mandamus 

manifest 

manilla 

manipulation 

manipulator 


io6 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


manufactory 

manufacturer 

margin 

maritime 

marriage 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

materially 

maturity 

mayor 

meantime 

meanwhile 

mechanic 

mechanical 

mechanism 

medication 

medicine 

Mediterranean 

membership 

memorandum 


memorial 

mercantile 

mercenary 

merchandise 

merit 

meritorious 

method 

metropolitan 

Michigan 

microphone 

mileage 

military 

militia 

millinery 

millionaire 

minimum 

Minnesota 

minor 

minute 

miscarried 


BUSINESS  AND  TECHNICAL    TERMS.      [QJ 

miscellaneous  Muskingum 

misdemeanor  muslin 

misinformed  mutilate 

Mississippi  mutually 


Missouri 

misunderstanding 

misunderstood 

model 

modicum 

moirtf 

molasses 

Monday 

monomania 


monopolist 

monopoly 

Montana 

moreover 

mortality 

mortgage 

mundane 


narrow 
naturalization 
Nebraska 
necessarily 
necessary 
necessitate 
necessity 
.  neglect 


negligence 


negotiable 

negotiate 

negotiating 

neighborhood 

neutral 

Nevada 


io8 


MODERN  PUNCTUA  TION. 


nevertheless 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico 

New  York 

niche 

nickel 

nitrogenous 

nominal 

non-arrival 

non-exception 

non-delivery 

non-joinder 

non-resident 

North  Carolina 

northwestern 

notification 

nourishment 

notwithstanding 


number 
nuncupative 
nutrient 
nutritive 

obedient 
objectionable 
obligation 
obligatory 
obviate 
occasion 
occupancy 
occupation 
occupy 
occurrence 
officially 
oftener 
.  Ohio 
Oklahoma 


nuisance 


—  onerous 


BUSINESS  AND 

operating 

operator 

opinion 

opportunity 

opulence 

orbit 

orchestra 

ordinance 

ordinary 


Oregon 

organism 

ornamental 

ornamentation 

oscillate 

ostrich 

otherwise 

outlawry 

outright 

outstanding 

overrule 


TECHNICAL   TERMS.       1 09 

oversight 

ownership 


Pacific  express 

pamphlet 

panel 

pantaloons 

papal 

[paragraphing 

parallel 


.  paramount 
paraphernalia 
parcel 
parenthesis 
parentheses  (plural) 
parquette 
partially 
particular 
partition 
partner 


no 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


.  partnership 
.  passage 
.  passenger 
.  patent 
.  patron 
.  payable 
.  payee 
.  payer 
.  peculiar 
.  pecuniary 
.  pedestal 
.  penalty 
.  pendant 
.  penknife 
.  Pennsylvania 
.  pension 
.  per  annum 
_per  capita 
-  percentage 
.  jieremptory 


perforate 

performance 

period 

perishable 

perjury 

permission 

perpetual 

perplexed 

personal 

personally 

perspective 

persuade 

pertain 

perusal 

petition 

petitioner 

jietit  jury 

petit  larceny 

petroleum 

riiiladel-iliia 


BU  SIX  ESS  AND  TECHNICAL   TERMS.       Ill 


phrase 

physician 

pier 

Pierrepont 

pipe 

pistol 

placard 

plaintiff 

pleasing 

pledge 

plentiful 

policy 

politeness 

political 

pomatum 

pneumatic 

porcelain 

possession 

post-mortem 

power  of  attorney 


.  practically 

-  preamble 
precedence 

-  precedent 

-  precisely 

-  predecessor 
predict 

-  preference 
prejudice 
premises 

_  premium 

preponderance 
.  prescribe 
_  presence 
.  preservation 

previously 
.  prima  facie 

principal  (chief) 

principally 
.  principle  (rule) 


112 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


prior 

priority 

privilege 

probably 

probability 

probity 

proceeds 

process 

procession 

producer 

proficient 

profile 


progressing 

prohibit 

.  prohibition 


—  projection 

—  prominent 

—  promiscuously 

—  promissory  note 

—  promote 


promptness 

—  promulgate 

—  propelling 

—  property 

—  proportion 

—  proportionate 

—  propose 

—  proposition 

—  propound 

—  proprietary 

—  proprietor 

—  pro  rata 

—  prosecution 

—  prosperity 

—  prosperous 

—  protect 

—  protest 

—  proverbially 

—  proviso 

—  provision 


BUSINESS  AND   TECHNICAL   TERMS.      II3 


proximity 

publication 

publicly 

puncheon 

punctual 

—  punctuality 
^  punctuate 
purchasable 

—  purchaser 
_  purporting 
_  purposes 

—  pursuant 


qualified  fee 

qualify 

quantity 

quarantine 

quitclaim 

quiz 

quorum 


-  quo  warranto 

.  random 

-  rascality 

-  ratification 

-  ratify 
rattan 
rattling 
reaction 
readjuster 
real  estate 
realizing 
rear 

reasonable 
reassurance 
rebate 
receipt 
receiptor 
receivable 
receive 


114 


MODERN  PUNCTUA  TION, 


.  receiver 
.  reciprocate 
.  recitation 
recklessly 
reclamation 
recommend 


-  recommendation 

-  recompense 

-  recognizance 

-  recognize 

-  recognizing 

-  recollection 

_  reconciliation 

-  reconsider 

-  recrimination 

-  rectify 

_  redeemable 

-  redemption 
redirect 

-  redundantly 


—  re-enclose 

—  referee 

reference 

_  referring 
_  refresh 

—  refrigerator 
_  refund 

—  register 

--  regretting 

—  regulation 

—  rehearsing 

—  reimburse 


rein 

reinstate 

relationship 

relegated 

reliability 

reliable 

reliableness 

religious 


BUSINESS  AND 

relintiuisli 

reluctantly 

reminiscence 

remittance 

remuneration 

renewal 

renunciation 

repetition 

replacing 

replevin 


representation 

representative 

reprimand 

repugnant 

requisite 

requisition 

.  reservation 
reshipment 

.  resource 
respectability 


TECHNICAL   TERMS.     II5 

respectfully 

respectively 

respondent 

responsible 

responsibility 

restitution 

. restoration 

. restriction 

. retirement 

retribution 

returnable 


revenue 


reversible 


—  revocation 

—  revolution 
^  re-written 

—  Rhode  Island 

—  ribbed 

—  ribbon 

—  rode 


iiG 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


rougher 
rubbish 


sacrifice 

salable 

salary 

salesman 

sanitary 

Saratoga 

sateen 
.  satisfactory 

Saturday 

sausage 

scaffolding 

scarcely 
. scene 
. schedule 

scheme 

scientific 


scope 

screening 

sealed 

seaworthiness 

secrecy 

secretary 

section 

security 

seduction 

seizable 

semi-annual 

semi-tontine 

sensitive 

separation 

separator 

serge 

serial 

seriously 

serviceable 

sewer 


BUSINESS  AND   TECHNICAL   TERMS.      11/ 


shedder 

sheriff 

Shetland 

shilling 

shipment 

shorthand 

shrewdly 

shrinkage 
■  shrivel 

,  sic  semper  iyratmis 
.  side-bar 
.  signature 
.  Silesia 

-  similar 

.  singeing 

-  singing 

-  situated 

-  skein 

-  skilful 

-  skull 


slovenly 
slyest 
social 
society 
sole 

solicitation 
soliciling 
solicitor 
.  solvent 
somebody 
sometimes 
somewhat 

-  South  Carolina 
.  southeastern 

-  specific 

-  specification 

-  specimen 

-  speedily 

-  spelter 

-  spirituous 


ii8 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


spurious 
stability 
statistics 
statuary 
statue 
statu  quo 
statute 
statutory 
stenographer 
.  steward 


_  stiffening 
_  stimulating 


_  stipend 
_  stipulate 
_-  stipulation 
_  stockholder 
_  stockyard 
_  stoppage 
_  storekeeper 
_  strengthen 


structure 
subordinate 
subpoena 
subrogation 
subscribe 
subscription 
subsequent 
subsequently 
substance 
■  substantially 

-  substantiate 

-  substitute 

-  subterfuge 

-  suburban 

-  success 

-  successor 

-  successful 

-  sufferance 
.  sufficient 

_  suitable 


BUSnVESS  AND   TECHNICAL   TERMS.      I  I9 


suite 

summarily 

summons 

Sunday 

superintendence 

superintendent 

superior 

supersede 

stipersedeas 
.  supervision 
.  supplemental 

surety 
.  surmise 
.  surrender 
.  surveyorship 
.  suspension 
.  swindler 
.  switched 
.  switchman 
.  syndicate 


systematic 

tallow 

tapestry 

tariff 

technicality 

telegram 

telegraph 

telephone 

temporarily 

tendency 

Tennessee 
.  terminate 
.  territorial 
.  territory 

testamentary 
.  testator 
.  testatrix 
.  testimonial 
.  testimony 


120 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


Texas 

texture 
,  therefor 
.  therefore 

thereon 

thereto 
. thoroughly 

Thursday 

throat 

throughout 

tierce 

tissue 

tolerable 

tolerate 

tonnage 

tontine 

touching 

to  wit 

township 

traffic 


transaction 
transcribe 
transferable 
transferred 
transferring 
.  transit 
transmission 
transmit 
transportation 
traveller 
treacherous 
treasurer 
trespass 
trestle 
tribunal 
tribute 
triplicate 
troches 
trustees 
trustworthy 


Bi'SIA^ESS  A  A' J)   TKCIIIVICAL   TERMS.      121 


Tuesday 

tunnel 

turbine 

typewriter 

typewriting 

typewritist 

ultimatum 
■  unaccompanied 

-  unambiguous 
unanimity 

-  unassorted 

-  unattainable 

-  unauthorize 

-  unavoidable 

-  unbleached 

-  uncancelled 

-  uncertain 

-  un  coagulated 

-  uncollectible 


_  unconsciously 
„  undecipherable 
._  undeniably 

undenied 

_  underscoring 

undergo 

undersigned 

understanding 

undivided 

—  undertaking 
undoubtedly 

—  unexpectedly 

—  unexpired 

unfavorable 

unforeseen 

unfolding 

unfortunate 

ungranted 

unhesitatingly 

unimportant 


122 


MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 


.  unimproved 

-  United  States 

-  unload 
unmistakable 
unmounted 
unnecessary 
unpardonable 
unpleasant 
unprofitable 
unquestionable 
unreasonable 
imreliable 
unremitting 
unrouted 
unshaken 
unsuccessful 
unsupport 
untroubled 
unusual 
unwarranted 


—  upholster 

—  upright 

—  up\^•ards 

—  urgent 

—  useless 

—  usually 

—  usurious 

—  Utah 

—  vacancy 

—  Valencia  raisins 

—  validity 

—  valuable 

—  value 

—  valve 

—  variance 

—  vegetable 

—  vendee 

—  vendor 

—  ventilation 


BUSINESS  AND  TECHNICAL   TERMS.      I  23 


veracity 

verdict 

Vermont 

vessel 

vexation 

vibrating 

vice  versa 

victorious 

view 

vintage 

Virginia 

vitality 

vitalize 

voidable 

volume 

voluminous 

■  voluntarily 

■  voluntary 
.  volunteer 

■  voucher 


waive 

warehouse 

warrant 

warrantee 

warrantor 

warranty  deed 

Washington  Terri- 
tory 

Wednesday 

weighmaster 

West  Virginia 

whatsoever 

whenever 

whereabouts 

whereof 

wliereupnn 

whiffle-tree 

whiskey 

wholesale 

wiring 

Wisconsin 


124  MODERN  PiJNCTUATION. 

withdrawn  Wyoming 

withhold 

. witnesseth  yielding 

worsted 

. wrap  zeal 


COMPOUND    WORDS. 

This  is  a  much-vexed  question,  and  the  diction- 
aries now  in  use  are  so  inconsistent  with  themselves 
that  they  are  not  safe  guides.  Many  words  of 
various  endings  are  written  as  one  word  if  the  com- 
pound makes  only  two  syllables,  but  with  a  hyphen 
if  of  more  than  two.  Many  prefer  to  use  the 
hyphen  in  some  cases  where  the  rules  would  dis- 
pense with  it  ;  and  of  course  its  use  is  a  matter  of 
taste,  as  much  as  of  custom.  Wherever  any  doubt 
would  arise  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  compound 
phrase,  the  hyphen  should  be  used.  The  following 
directions  (mainly  selected  from  Eigelow's  Hand- 
book of  Puuctuatioii)  may  assist  in  making  this  mat- 
ter clearer,  if  not  exhaustive  of  the  subject  : 

Alilitary  ami  cwil  titles,  such  as  the  following,  are 
compounded  :  Governor-general,  attorney-general, 
lieutenant-colonel,  rear-admiral,  vice-])resident, 
etc.  ;  but  viceroy  and  vicegerent. 

The  following  words  denoting  kindred  are  com- 
pounded :  Father-in-law,  etc.,  step-mother,  etc., 
foster-brother,  etc.,  half-sister,  etc.,  cousin-german, 
second-cousin,  grand-uncle,  great-aunt,  great- 
grandfather, etc. 

125 


126  MODERN  PUNCTUATION. 

The  following  points  of  the  compass  should  be 
written  as  single  words  :  Northeast,  northwest, 
southeast,  southwest  ;  but  north-northeast,  south- 
southwest,  etc. 

Compounds  of  half  or  quarter,  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing, are  always  printed  with  a  hyphen  :  Half- 
dollar,  half-crown,  half-barrel,  half-past,  half-way, 
half-witted,  half-yearly,  half-price,  quarter-barrel, 
quarter-day,  quarter-deck,  quarter-face,  etc.  :  hut 
quartermaster. 

The  words  fold,  score,  penny,  and  pence,  united 
with  numbers  of  one  syllable,  are  written  as  single 
words  ;  but  with  numbers  of  more  than  one  sylla- 
ble they  are  compounded  or  written  separately  : 
Tenfold,  twenty-fold,  a  hundred-fold,  two  hundred- 
fold ;  fourscore,  twenty  score,  a  hundred  score  ; 
halfpenny,  twopenny,  halfpence,  fourpence,  fifteen- 
penny,  fifteen  pence,  etc. 

Numerals  of  one  syllable  compounded  with  vari- 
ous words,  and  ordinal  numbers  compounded  with 
hand  and  rate,  are  commonly  written  with  a 
hyphen  ;  for  example  :  One  eyed,  two-story,  four- 
footed,  etc.  ;  second-hand,  first-rate,  etc.  Nume- 
rals are  also  compounded  with  nouns  to  form 
adjectives,  as  one-horse  chaise,  two-foot  rule,  six- 
teen-foot pole,  etc. 

Compounds  ending  with  holder,  mofiger,  man, 
7voman  and  work  are  usually  written  as  single 
words,  unless  the  combination  is  unusual  ;  for  ex- 


COMPOUND    WORDS.  12/ 

ample  :  Shareholder,  bondholder ;  ironmonger, 
scandalmonger ;  Dutchman,  workingman,  fisher- 
man ;  Irishwoman,  needlewoman,  saleswoman  ; 
groundwork,  needlework,  stonework,  etc.  ;  but 
mason-work  and  carpenter-work. 

Compounds  ending  with  boat,  book,  drop,  house, 
light,  room,  side,  or  yard,  are  made  single  words  if 
the  first  part  of  the  compound  is  of  only  one  syl- 
lable, but  are  joined  by  a  hyphen  if  more  than 
one  ;  for  example  :  Rowboat,  steamboat,  canal- 
boat,  ferry-boat  ;  handbook,  bankbook,  daybook, 
commonplace-book  ;  dewdrop,  raindrop,  water- 
drop  ;  alehouse,  bathhouse,  warehouse,  dwelling- 
house,  summer-house  ;  candle-light,  daylight, 
lamplight  ;  bedroom,  ante-room,  dining-room,  dress- 
ing-room ;  fireside,  hillside,  mountain-side,  river- 
side ;  churchyard,  farmyard,  stable-yard,  lumber- 
yard, marble-yard,  etc. 

Compounds  ending  with  like  are  written  as  single 
words,  unless  unusual  combinations,  or  derived 
from  a  proper  noun,  when  they  are  written  with  a 
hyphen  ;  for  example  :  Workmanlike,  manlike, 
womanlike,  lifelike  ;  miniature-like,  business-like, 
Arab-like,  Satan-like,  etc. 


NOTE. 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebted- 
ness to  that  capital  work,  Humphrey  s  Manual^  for 
most  of  the  illustrative  examples  used  in  this  work. 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


MAY  1  7   1929 

JUN  2  7  1958 
NOV  3      1956 


MAIN.  LOAN 


E  a 

DESK 


MAR  t   4  1991 


orm  L-9-35Hi-8,'28 


P.M. 


L  006  341  451  6 


I  A  50 


rvw^ 


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